WhtorJcal 


Russian 


i 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 


ALEXANDER   III.,  CZAR    OF    RUSSIA. 


Historical  Wales 


The  Romance  of  Reality 


BY 


CHARLES  MORRIS 

AUTHOR  OF  "half-hours  WITH  THE  BEST  AMERICAN 
AUTHORS,"  ''tales  FROM  THE  DRAMATISTS,"  "KING 
ARTHUR  AND  THE  KNIGHTS  OF  THE  ROUND-TABLE,"  ETC. 


RUSSIAN 


DENVER : 

TANDY,  WHEELER  &  COMPANY. 
1902. 


Copyright,  1898, 

BY 

J.  B.  LippiNcoTT  Company. 


uiFT 


VKH-0 
Mt3 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 


The  Ancient  Scythians 5 

Oleg  the  Varangian 14 

The  Vengeance  of  Queen  Olga 21 

Vladimir  the  Great 29 

The  Lawgiver  of  Eussia 41 

The  Yoke  of  the  Tartars 49 

The  Victory  of  the  Don 55 

Ivan,  the  First  op  the  Czars 60 

The  Fall  of  Novgorod  the  Great 64 

Ivan  the  Terrible 74 

The  Conquest  of  Siberia 80 

The  Macbeth  of  Eussia 85 

The  Era  of  the  Impostors 101 

The  Books  of  Ancestry 110 

Boyhood  of  Peter  the  Great 114 

Carpenter  Peter  of  Zaandam 123 

The  Fall  of  the  Strelitz 132 

The  Crusade  against  Beards  and  Cloaks 142 

Mazeppa,  the  Cossack  Chief 149 

A  Window  open  to  Europe 155 

From  the  Hovel  to  the  Throne 165 

Buffooneries  of  the  Eussian  Court 174 

How  A  Woman  dethroned  a  Man 184 

A  Struggle  for  a  Throne 195 

The  Flight  op  the  Kalmucks 202 

A  Magical  Transformation  Scene 220 

Kosciusko  and  the  Fall  op  Poland 226 

SuwARROw  the  Unconquerable 231 

The  Eetreat  of  Napoleon's  Grand  Army 241 

The   DP'-ATTT-STRTTnr,T.^^   OF   PoT.ANn 248 

1 


181 


2  CONTENTS. 

FAOB 

SCHAMYL,   THE  HeRO  OF  ClECASSIA 258 

The  Charge  of  the  Light  Brigade 267 

The  Fall  of  Sebastopol 276 

At  the  Gates  of  Constantinople 284 

The  Nihilists  and  their  Work 293 

The  Advance  of  Russia  in  Asia 300 

The  Railroad  in  Turkestan 311 

AST  Escape  from  the  Mines  of  Siberia 319 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


RUSSIA. 

PAGK 

Alexander  III.,  Czar  of  Russia    .   .  (Frontispiece). 

Cathedral  at  Ostankino,  near  Moscow 40 

General  View  of  Moscow 65 

KiAKHTA,  Siberia 84 

Church  of  the  Assumption,  Moscow,  in  which  the 

Czar  is  Crowned 109 

Peter  the  Great .  142 

Sleighing  in  Eussia 160 

The  City  of  Kasan 199 

Scene  on  a  Russian  Farm 223 

Mount  St.  Peter,  Crimea 267 

The  Walls  of  Constantinople 290 

Dowager  Czarina  of  Russia 300 

Group  of  Siberians 320 


THE  ANCIENT  SCYTHIANS, 

Far  over  the  eastern  half  of  Europe  extends  a 
vast  and  mighty  plain,  spreading  thousands  of  miles 
to  the  north  and  south,  to  the  east  and  west,  in  the 
north  a  land  of  forests,  in  the  south  and  east  a  region 
of  treeless  levels.  Here  stretches  the  Black  Land, 
whose  deep  dark  soil  is  fit  for  endless  harvests ;  here 
are  the  arable  steppes,  a  vast  fertile  prairie  land, 
and  here  again  the  barren  steppes,  fit  only  for  wan- 
dering herds  and  the  tents  of  nomad  shepherds. 
Across  this  great  plain,  in  all  directions,  flow  myriads 
of  meandering  streams,  many  of  them  swelling  into 
noble  rivers,  whose  waters  find  their  outlet  in  great 
seas.  Over  it  blow  the  biting  winds  of  the  Arctic 
zone,  chaining  its  waters  in  fetters  of  ice  for  half  the 
year.  On  it  in  summer  shine  warm  suns,  in  whose 
enlivening  rays  hfe  flows  full  again. 

Such  is  the  land  with  which  we  have  to  deal,  Eus- 
sia,  the  seeding-place  of  nations,  the  home  of  restless 
tribes.  Here  the  vast  level  of  Northern  Asia  spreads 
like  a  sea  over  half  of  Europe,  until  checked  in  its 
flow  by  lofty  mountain  walls.  Over  these  broad 
plains  the  fierce  horsemen  of  the  East  long  found  an 
easy  pathway  to  the  rich  and  doomed  cities  of  the 
West.  Eussia  was  playing  its  part  in  the  grand 
drama  of  the  nations  in  far-off  days  when  such  a 
land  was  hardly  known  to  exist. 

5 


6  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

Have  any  of  my  readers  ever  from  a  hill-top  looked 
out  over  a  broad,  low-lying  meadow-land  filled  with 
morning  mist,  a  dense  white  shroud  under  which 
everything  lay  hidden,  all  life  and  movement  lost  to 
view  ?  In  such  a  scene,  as  the  mist  thins  under  the 
rays  of  the  rising  sun,  vague  forms  at  first  dimly 
appear,  magnified  and  monstrous  in  their  outlines, 
the  shadows  of  a  buried  wonderland.  Then,  as  the 
mist  slowly  lifts,  like  a  great  white  curtain,  living 
and  moving  objects  appear  below,  still  of  strange 
outlines  and  unnatural  dimensions.  Finally,  as  if  by 
the  sweep  of  an  enchanter's  wand,  the  mists  vanish, 
the  land  lies  clear  under  the  solar  rays,  and  we  per- 
ceive that  these  seeming  monsters  and  giants  are 
but  the  familiar  forms  which  we  know  so  well,  those 
of  houses  and  trees,  men  and  their  herds,  actively 
stirring  beneath  us,  clearly  revealed  as  the  things  of 
every  day. 

It  is  thus  that  the  land  of  Russia  appears  to  us 
when  the  mists  of  prehistoric  time  first  begin  to  lift. 
Half-formed  figures  appear,  rising,  vanishing,  show- 
ing large  through  the  vapor;  stirring,  interwoven, 
endlessly  coming  and  going ;  a  phantasmagoria  which 
it  is  impossible  more  than  half  to  understand.  At 
that  early  date  the  great  Russian  plain  seems  to  have 
been  the  home  of  unnumbered  tribes  of  varied  race 
and  origin,  made  up  of  men  doubtless  full  of  hopes 
and  aspirations  like  ourselves,  yet  whose  story  we 
fail  to  read  on  the  blurred  page  of  history,  and  con- 
cerning whom  we  must  rest  content  with  knowing 
a  few  of  the  names. 

Yet  progressive  civilizations  had  long  existed  in 


THE  ANCIENT   SCYTHIANS.  7 

the  countries  to  the  south,  Egypt  and  Assyria,  Greece 
and  Persia.  History  was  actively  being  made  there, 
but  it  had  not  penetrated  the  mist-laden  North.  The 
Greeks  founded  colonies  on  the  northern  shores  of 
the  Black  Sea,  but  they  troubled  themselves  little 
about  the  seething  tribes  with  whom  they  came  there 
into  contact.  The  land  they  called  Scythia,  and  its 
people  Scythians,  but  the  latter  were  scarcely  known 
until  about  500  e.g.,  when  Darius,  the  great  Persian 
king,  crossed  the  Danube  and  invaded  their  country. 
He  found  life  there  in  abundance,  and  more  war- 
like activity  than  he  relished,  for  the  fierce  nomads 
drove  him  and  his  army  in  terror  from  their  soil, 
and  only  fortune  and  a  bridge  of  boats  saved  them 
from  perishing. 

It  was  this  event  that  first  gave  the  people  of 
old  Eussia  a  place  on  the  page  of  history.  Herodo- 
tus, the  charming  old  historian  and  story-teller,  wrote 
down  for  us  all  he  could  learn  about  them,  though 
what  he  says  has  probably  as  much  fancy  in  it  as 
fact. 

We  are  told  that  these  broad  levels  were  formerly 
inhabited  by  a  people  called  the  Cimmerians,  who 
were  driven  out  by  the  Scythians  and  went — it  is 
hard  to  tell  whither.  A  shadow  of  their  name  sur- 
vives in  the  Crimea,  and  some  believe  that  they  were 
the  ancestors  of  the  Cymri,  the  Celts  of  the  West. 

The  Scythians,  who  thus  came  into  history  like  a 
cloud  of  war,  made  the  god  of  war  their  chief  deity. 
The  temples  which  they  built  to  this  deity  were  of 
the  simplest,  being  great  heaps  of  fagots,  which  were 
added  to  every  year  as  they  rotted  away  under  the 


8  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

rains.  Into  the  top  of  the  heap  was  thrust  an  an- 
cient iron  sword  as  the  emblem  of  the  god.  To  this 
grim  symbol  more  victims  were  sacrificed  than  to  all 
the  other  deities ;  not  only  cattle  and  horses,  but  pris- 
oners taken  in  battle,  of  whom  one  out  of  every  hun- 
dred died  to  honor  the  god,  their  blood  being  caught 
in  vessels  and  poured  on  the  sword. 

A  people  with  a  worship  like  this  must  have  been 
savage  in  grain.  To  prove  their  prowess  in  war 
they  cut  off  the  heads  of  the  slain  and  carried  them 
to  the  king.  Like  the  Indians  of  the  West,  they 
scalped  their  enemies.  These  scalps,  softened  by 
treatment,  they  used  as  napkins  at  their  meals,  and 
even  sewed  them  together  to  make  cloaks.  Here 
was  a  refinement  in  barbarity  undreamed  of  by  the 
Indians. 

These  were  not  their  only  savage  customs.  They 
drank  the  blood  of  the  first  enemy  killed  by  them  in 
battle,  and  at  their  high  feasts  used  drinking-cups 
made  from  the  skulls  of  their  foes.  When  a  chief 
died  cruelty  was  given  free  vent.  The  slaves  and 
horses  of  the  dead  chief  were  slain  at  his  grave,  and 
placed  upright  like  a  circle  of  horsemen  around  the 
royal  tomb,  being  impaled  on  sharp  timbers  to  keep 
them  in  an  upright  position. 

Tribes  with  habits  like  these  have  no  history. 
There  is  nothing  in  their  careers  worth  the  telling, 
and  no  one  to  tell  it  if  there  were.  Their  origin, 
manners,  and  customs  may  be  of  interest,  but  not 
their  intertribal  quarrels. 

Herodotus  tells  us  of  others  besides  the  Scythians. 
There  were  the  Melanchlainai,  who  dressed  only  in 


THE   ANCIENT   SCYTHIANS.  9 

black;  the  Neuri,  who  once  a  year  changed  into 
wolves ;  the  Agathyrei,  who  took  pleasure  in  trin- 
kets of  gold ;  the  Sauromati,  children  of  the  Ama- 
zons, or  women  warriors ;  the  Argippei,  bald-headed 
and  snub-nosed  from  their  birth ;  the  Issedones, 
who  feasted  on  the  dead  bodies  of  their  parents ; 
the  Arimaspians,  a  one-eyed  race;  the  Gryphons, 
guardians  of  great  hoards  of  gold ;  the  Hyperbo- 
reans, in  whose  land  white  feathers  (snow-flakes?) 
fell  all  the  year  round  from  the  skies. 

Such  is  the  mixture  of  fact  and  fable  which  He- 
rodotus learned  from  the  traders  and  travellers  of 
Greece.  We  know  nothing  of  these  tribes  but  the 
names.  Their  ancestors  may  have  dwelt  for  thou- 
sands of  years  on  the  Eussian  plains ;  their  descend- 
ants may  still  make  up  part  of  the  great  Eussian 
people  and  retain  some  of  their  old-time  habits 
and  customs;  but  of  their  doings  history  takes  no 
account. 

The  Scythians,  who  occupied  the  south  of  Eussia, 
came  into  contact  with  the  Greek  trading  colonies 
north  of  the  Black  Sea,  and  gained  from  them  some 
little  veneer  of  civilization.  They  aided  the  Greeks 
in  their  commerce,  took  part  in  their  caravans  to 
the  north  and  east,  and  spent  some  portion  of  the 
profits  of  their  peaceful  labor  in  objects  of  art  made 
for  them  by  Greek  artists. 

This  we  know,  for  some  of  these  objects  still  exist. 
Jewels  owned  by  the  ancient  Scythians  may  be  seen 
to-day  in  Eussian  museums.  Chief  in  importance 
among  these  relics  are  two  vases  of  wonderful  interest 
kept  in  the  museum  of  the  Hermitage,  at  St.  Peters- 


10  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

burg.  These  are  the  silver  vase  of  ]N'icopol  and  the 
golden  vase  of  Kertch,  both  probably  as  old  as  the 
days  of  Herodotus.  These  vases  speak  with  his- 
tory. On  the  silver  vase  we  may  see  the  faces  and 
forms  of  the  ancient  Scythians,  men  with  long  hair 
and  beards  and  large  features.  They  resemble  in 
dress  and  aspect  the  people  who  now  dwell  in  the 
same  country,  and  they  are  shown  in  the  act  of 
breaking  in  and  bridling  their  horses,  just  as  their 
descendants  do  to-day.  Progress  has  had  no  place 
on  these  broad  plains.     There  life  stands  still. 

On  the  golden  vase  appear  figures  who  wear 
pointed  caps  and  dresses  ornamented  in  the  Asiatic 
fashion,  while  in  their  hands  are  bows  of  strange 
shape.  But  their  features  are  those  of  men  of 
Aryan  descent,  and  in  them  we  seem  to  see  the  far- 
off  progenitors  of  the  modern  Russians. 

Herodotus,  in  his  chatty  fashion,  tells  us  various 
problematical  stories  of  the  Scythians,  premising 
that  he  does  not  believe  them  all  himself.  A  tra- 
dition with  them  was  that  they  were  the  youngest 
of  all  nations,  being  descended  from  Targitaus,  one 
of  the  numerous  sons  of  Jove.  The  three  children 
of  Targitaus  for  a  time  ruled  the  land,  but  their 
joint  rule  was  changed  by  a  prodigy.  There  fell 
from  the  skies  four  implements  of  gold, — a  plough, 
a  yoke,  a  battle-axe,  and  a  drinking-cup.  The  oldest 
brother  hastened  eagerly  to  seize  this  treasure,  but 
it  burst  into  flame  at  his  approach.  The  second  then 
made  the  attempt,  but  was  in  his  turn  driven  back 
by  the  scorching  flames.  But  on  the  approach  of 
the  youngest  the  flames  vanished,  the  gold  grew 


THE  ANCIENT   SCYTHIANS.  H 

cool,  and  he  was  enabled  to  take  possession  of  the 
heaven-given  inaplements.  His  elders  then  withdrew 
from  the  throne,  warned  by  this  sign  from  the  gods, 
and  left  him  sole  ruler.  The  story  proceeds  that 
the  royal  gold  was  guarded  with  the  greatest  care, 
yearly  sacrifices  being  made  in  its  honor.  If  its 
guardian  fell  asleep  in  the  open  air  during  the  sacri- 
fices he  was  doomed  to  die  within  the  year.  But  as 
reward  for  the  faithful  keeping  of  his  trust  he  re- 
ceived as  much  land  as  he  could  ride  round  on 
horseback  in  a  day. 

The  old  historian  further  tells  us  that  the  Scythian 
warriors  invaded  the  kingdom  of  Media,  which  they 
conquered  and  held  for  twenty-eight  years.  During 
this  long  absence  strange  events  were  taking  place 
at  home.  They  had  held  many  slaves,  whom  it  was 
their  custom  to  blind,  as  they  used  them  only  to  stir 
the  milk  in  the  great  pot  in  which  koumiss,  their 
favorite  beverage,  was  made. 

The  wives  of  the  absent  warriors,  after  years  of 
waiting,  gave  up  all  hopes  of  their  return  and  mar- 
ried the  blind  slaves;  and  while  the  masters  tar- 
ried in  Media  the  children  of  their  slaves  grew  to 
manhood. 

The  time  at  length  came  when  the  warriors,  filled 
with  home-sickness,  left  the  subject  realm  to  seek 
their  native  plains.  As  they  marched  onward  they 
found  themselves  stopped  by  a  great  dike,  dug  from 
the  Tauric  Mountains  to  Lake  Maeotis,  behind  which 
stood  a  host  of  youthful  warriors.  They  were  the 
children  of  the  slaves,  who  were  determined  to  keep 
the  land  for  themselves.    Many  battles  were  fought, 


12  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

but  the  young  men  held  their  own  bravely,  and  the 
warriors  were  in  despair. 

Then  one  of  them  cried  to  his  fellows, — 

"  What  foolish  thing  are  we  doing,  Scythians  ? 
These  men  are  our  slaves,  and  every  one  of  them 
that  falls  is  a  loss  to  us  ;  while  each  of  us  that  falls 
reduces  our  number.  Take  my  advice,  lay  aside 
spear  and  bow,  and  let  each  man  take  his  horsewhip 
and  go  boldly  up  to  them.  So  long  as  they  see  us 
with  arms  in  our  hands  they  fancy  that  they  are  our 
equals  and  fight  us  bravely.  But  let  them  see  us 
with  only  whips,  and  they  will  remember  that  they 
are  slaves  and  flee  like  dogs  from  before  our  faces." 

It  happened  as  he  said.  As  the  Scythians  ap- 
proached with  their  whips  the  youths  were  so  as- 
tounded that  they  forgot  to  fight,  and  ran  away  in 
trembling  terror.  And  so  the  warriors  came  home, 
and  the  slaves  were  put  to  making  koumiss  again. 

These  fabulous  stories  of  the  early  people  of 
Eussia  may  be  followed  by  an  account  of  their 
funeral  customs,  left  for  us  by  an  Arabian  writer 
who  visited  their  land  in  the  ninth  century.  He 
tells  us  that  for  ten  days  after  the  death  of  one  of 
their  great  men  his  friends  bewailed  him,  showing 
the  depth  of  their  grief  by  getting  drunk  on  koumiss 
over  his  corpse. 

Then  the  men-servants  were  asked  which  of  them 
would  be  buried  with  his  master.  The  one  that 
consented  was  instantly  seized  and  strangled.  The 
same  question  was  put  to  the  women,  one  of  whom 
was  sure  to  accept.  There  may  have  been  some 
rare  future  reward  offered  for  death  in  such  a  cause. 


THE   ANCIENT   SCYTHIANS.  13 

The  willing  victim  was  bathed,  adorned,  and  treated 
like  a  princess,  and  did  nothing  but  drink  and  sing 
while  the  obsequies  lasted. 

On  the  day  fixed  for  the  end  of  the  ceremonies, 
the  dead  man  was  laid  in  a  boat,  with  part  of  his 
arms  and  garments.  His  favorite  horse  was  slain 
and  laid  in  the  boat,  and  with  it  the  corpse  of  the 
man-servant.  Then  the  young  girl  was  led  up.  She 
took  off  her  jewels,  a  glass  of  kvass  was  put  in  her 
hand,  and  she  sang  a  farewell  song. 

"All  at  once,"  says  the  writer,  "the  old  woman 
who  accompanied  her,  and  whom  they  called  the 
angel  of  death,  bade  her  to  drink  quickly,  and  to 
enter  into  the  cabin  of  the  boat,  where  lay  the  dead 
body  of  her  master.  At  these  words  she  changed 
color,  and  as  she  made  some  difficulty  about  enter- 
ing, the  old  woman  seized  her  by  the  hair,  dragged 
her  in,  and  entered  with  her.  The  men  immediately 
began  to  beat  their  shields  with  clubs  to  prevent  the 
other  girls  from  hearing  the  cries  of  their  com- 
panion, which  might  prevent  them  one  day  dying 
for  their  master." 

The  boat  was  then  set  on  fire,  and  served  as  a 
funeral  pile,  in  which  living  and  dead  alike  were 
consumed. 


OLEG  THE  VARANGIAN, 

For  ages  and  ages,  none  can  say  how  many,  the 
great  plain  of  Russia  existed  as  a  nursery  of  tribes, 
some  wandering  with  their  herds,  some  dwelling  in 
villages  and  tilling  their  fields,  but  all  warlike  and 
all  barbarians.  And  over  this  plain  at  intervals 
swept  conquering  hordes  from  Asia,  the  terrible 
Huns,  the  devastating  Avars,  and  others  of  varied 
names.  But  as  yet  the  Eussia  we  know  did  not 
exist,  and  its  very  name  had  never  been  heard. 

As  time  went  on,  the  people  in  the  centre  and 
north  of  the  country  became  peaceful  and  pros- 
perous, since  the  invaders  did  not  cross  their  borders, 
and  a  great  and  wealthy  city  arose,  whose  commerce 
in  time  extended  on  the  east  as  far  as  Persia  and 
India,  on  the  south  to  Constantinople,  and  on  the 
west  far  through  the  Baltic  Sea.  Though  seated  in 
Russia,  still  largely  a  land  of  barbarous  tribes,  Nov- 
gorod became  one  of  the  powerful  cities  of  the  earth, 
making  its  strength  felt  far  and  wide,  placing  the 
tribes  as  far  as  the  Ural  Mountains  under  tribute, 
and  growing  so  strong  and  warlike  that  it  became  a 
common  saying  among  the  people,  "  Who  can  oppose 
God  and  Novgorod  the  Great  T 

But  trouble  arose  for  Novgorod.  Its  chief  trade 
lay  through  the  Baltic  Sea,  and  here  its  ships  met 
those  terrible  Scandinavian  pirates  who  were  then 
14 


OLEG  THE  VARANGIAN.  15 

the  ocean's  lords.  Among  these  bold  rovers  were 
the  Danes  who  descended  on  England,  the  Normans 
who  won  a  new  home  in  France,  the  daring  voy- 
agers who  discovered  Iceland  and  Greenland,  and 
those  who  sailed  up  the  Mediterranean  as  far  as 
Constantinople,  conquering  kingdoms  as  they  went. 

To  some  of  these  Scandinavians  the  merchants  of 
Novgorod  turned  for  aid  against  the  others.  Bands 
of  them  had  made  their  way  into  Russia  and  settled 
on  the  eastern  shores  of  the  Baltic.  To  these  the 
Novgorodians  appealed  in  their  trouble,  and  in  the 
year  862  asked  three  Yarangian  brothers,  Rurik, 
Sinaf,  and  Truvor,  to  come  to  their  aid.  The  warlike 
brothers  did  so,  seated  themselves  on  the  frontier 
of  the  republic  of  Novgorod,  drove  oif  its  foes — and 
became  its  foes  themselves.  The  people  of  Novgo- 
rod, finding  their  trade  at  the  mercy  of  their  allies, 
submitted  to  their  power,  and  in  864  invited  Rurik 
to  become  their  king.  His  two  brothers  had  mean- 
time died. 

Thus  it  was  that  the  Russian  empire  began,  for  the 
Yarangians  came  from  a  country  called  Ross,  from 
which  their  new  realm  gained  the  name  of  Russia. 

Rurik  took  the  title  of  Grand  Prince,  made  his 
principal  followers  lords  of  the  cities  of  his  new 
realm,  and  the  republic  of  Novgorod  came  to  an  end 
in  form,  though  not  in  spirit.  It  is  interesting  to 
note  at  this  point  that  Russia,  which  began  as  a  re- 
public, has  ended  as  one  of  the  most  absolute  of 
monarchies.  The  first  step  in  its  subjection  was  taken 
when  Novgorod  invited  Rurik  the  Yarangian  to  be 
its  prince ;  the  other  steps  came  later,  one  by  one. 


16  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

For  fifteen  years  Eurik  remained  lord  of  Novgo- 
rod, and  then  died  and  left  his  four-year-old  son  Igor 
as  his  heir,  with  Oleg,  his  kinsman,  as  regent  of  the 
realm.  It  is  the  story  of  Oleg,  as  told  by  Nestor, 
the  gossipy  old  Russian  chronicler,  that  we  propose 
here  to  tell,  but  it  seemed  useful  to  precede  it  by  an 
account  of  how  the  Eussian  empire  came  into  ex- 
istence. 

Oleg  was  a  man  of  his  period,  a  barbarian  and  a 
soldier  born;  brave,  crafty,  adventurous,  faithful 
to  Igor,  his  ward,  cruel  and  treacherous  to  others. 
Under  his  rule  the  Eussian  dominions  rapidly  and 
widely  increased. 

At  an  earlier  date  two  Varangians,  Askhold  and 
Dir  by  name,  had  made  their  way  far  to  the  south, 
where  they  became  masters  of  the  city  of  Kief. 
They  even  dared  to  attack  Constantinople,  but  were 
driven  back  from  that  great  stronghold  of  the  South. 

It  by  no  means  pleased  Oleg  to  find  this  powerful 
kingdom  founded  in  the  land  which  he  had  set  out  to 
subdue.  He  determined  that  Kief  should  be  his,  and 
in  882  made  his  way  to  its  vicinity.  But  it  was  easier 
to  reach  than  to  take.  Its  rulers  were  brave,  their 
Varangian  followers  were  courageous,  the  city  was 
strong.  Oleg,  doubting  his  power  to  win  it  by  force 
of  arms,  determined  to  try  what  could  be  done  by 
stratagem  and  treachery. 

Leaving  his  army,  and  taking  Igor  with  him,  he 
floated  down  the  Dnieper  with  a  few  boats,  in  which 
a  number  of  armed  men  were  hidden,  and  at  length 
landed  near  the  ancient  city  of  Kief,  which  stood  on 
high  ground  near  the  river.     Placing  his  warriors  in 


OLEG  THE  VARANGIAN.  17 

ambush,  he  sent  a  messenger  to  Askhold  and  Dir, 
with  the  statement  that  a  party  of  Yarangian  mer- 
chants, whom  the  prince  of  Novgorod  had  sent  to 
Greece,  had  just  landed,  and  desired  to  see  them  as 
friends  and  men  of  their  own  race. 

Those  were  simple  times,  in  which  even  the  rulers 
of  cities  did  not  put  on  any  show  of  state.  On  the 
contrary,  the  two  princes  at  once  left  the  city  and 
went  alone  to  meet  the  false  merchants.  They  had 
no  sooner  arrived  than  Oleg  threw  off  his  mask. 
His  followers  sprang  from  their  ambush,  arms  in 
hand. 

"  You  are  neither  princes  nor  of  princely  birth," 
he  cried ;  "  but  I  am  a  prince,  and  this  is  the  son  of 
Eurik." 

And  at  a  sign  from  his  hand  Askhold  and  Dir 
were  laid  dead  at  his  feet. 

By  this  act  of  base  treachery  Oleg  became  the 
master  of  Kief.  No  one  in  the  city  ventured  to  re- 
sist the  strong  army  which  he  quickly  brought  up, 
and  the  metropolis  of  the  south  opened  its  gates  to 
the  man  who  had  wrought  murder  under  the  guise 
of  war.  It  is  not  likely,  though,  that  Oleg  sought 
to  justify  his  act  on  any  grounds.  In  those  barbar- 
ous days,  when  might  made  right,  murder  was  too 
much  an  every-day  matter  to  be  deeply  considered 
by  any  one. 

Oleg  was  filled  with  admiration  of  the  city  he  had 
won.  "  Let  Kief  be  the  mother  of  all  the  Eussian 
cities !"  he  exclaimed.  And  such  it  became,  for  he 
made  it  his  capital,  and  for  three  centuries  it  re- 
mained the  capital  city  of  the  Eussian  realm. 

2 


18  HISTORICAL  TALES. 

What  he  principally  admired  it  for  was  its  near- 
ness to  Constantinople,  the  capital  of  the  great  em- 
pire of  the  East,  on  which,  like  the  former  lords  of 
Kief,  he  looked  with  greedy  and  envious  eyes. 

For  long  centuries  past  Greece  and  the  other 
countries  of  the  South  had  paid  little  heed  to  the 
dwellers  on  the  Eussian  plains,  of  whose  scattered 
tribes  they  had  no  fear.  But  with  the  coming  of 
the  Yarangians,  the  conquest  of  the  tribes,  and  the 
founding  of  a  wide-spread  empire,  a  different  state 
of  affairs  began,  and  from  that  day  to  this  Constan- 
tinople has  found  the  people  of  the  steppes  its  most 
dangerous  and  persistent  foes. 

Oleg  was  not  long  in  making  the  Greek  empire 
feel  his  heavy  hand.  Filling  the  minds  of  his  fol- 
lowers and  subjects  with  his  own  thirst  for  blood 
and  plunder,  he  set  out  with  an  army  of  eighty 
thousand  men,  in  two  thousand  barks,  passed  the 
cataracts  of  the  Borysthenes,  crossed  the  Black 
Sea,  murdered  the  subjects  of  the  empire  in  hosts, 
and,  as  the  chronicles  say,  sailed  overland  with  all 
sails  set  to  the  port  of  Constantinople  itself.  What 
he  probably  did  was  to  have  his  vessels  taken  over 
a  neck  of  land  on  wheels  or  rollers. 

Here  he  threw  the  imperial  city  into  mortal  terror, 
fixed  his  shield  on  the  very  gate  of  Constantinople, 
and  forced  the  emperor  to  buy  him  off  at  the  price 
of  an  enormous  ransom.  To  the  treaty  made  the 
Yarangian  warriors  swore  by  their  gods  Perune 
and  Yoloss,  by  their  rings,  and  by  their  swords, — 
gold  and  steel,  the  things  they  honored  most  and 
most  desired. 


OLEG  THE  VARANGIAN.  19 

Then  back  in  triumph  they  sailed  to  Kief,  rich 
with  booty,  and  ever  after  haiHng  their  leader  as 
the  Wise  Man,  or  Magician.  Eight  years  afterwards 
Oleg  made  a  treaty  of  alliance  and  commerce  with 
Constantinople,  in  which  Greeks  and  Eussians  stood 
on  equal  footing.  Eussia  had  made  a  remarkable 
stride  forward  as  a  nation  since  Eurik  was  invited 
to  Novgorod  a  quarter-century  before. 

For  thirty-three  years  Oleg  held  the  throne.  His 
was  too  strong  a  hand  to  yield  its  power  to  his 
ward.  Igor  must  wait  for  Oleg's  death.  He  had 
found  a  province ;  he  left  an  empire.  In  his  hands 
Eussia  grew  into  greatness,  and  from  Novgorod  to 
Kief  and  far  and  wide  to  the  right  and  left  stretched 
the  lands  won  by  his  conquering  sword. 

He  was  too  great  a  man  to  die  an  ordinary  death. 
According  to  the  tradition,  miracle  had  to  do  with 
his  passing  away.  Nestor,  the  prince  of  Eussian 
chroniclers,  tells  us  the  following  story : 

Oleg  had  a  favorite  horse,  which  he  rode  alike  in 
battle  and  in  the  hunt,  until  at  length  a  prediction 
came  from  the  soothsayers  that  death  would  over- 
take him  through  his  cherished  charger.  Warrior  as 
he  was,  he  had  the  superstition  of  the  pagan,  and  to 
avoid  the  predicted  fate  he  sent  his  horse  far  away, 
and  for  years  avoided  even  speaking  of  it. 

Then,  moved  by  curiosity,  he  asked  what  had  be- 
come of  the  banished  animal. 

"  It  died  years  ago,"  was  the  reply ;  "  only  its 
bones  remain." 

"  So  much  for  your  soothsayers,"  he  cried,  with  a 
contempt  that  was  not  unmixed  with  relief.     "  That, 


20  HISTORICAL  TALES. 

then,  is  all  this  prediction  is  worth  !  But  where  are 
the  bones  of  my  good  old  horse  ?  I  should  like  to 
see  what  little  is  left  of  him." 

He  was  taken  to  the  spot  where  lay  the  skeleton 
of  his  old  favorite,  and  gazed  with  some  show  of 
feeling  on  the  bleaching  bones  of  what  had  once 
been  his  famous  war-horse.  Then,  setting  his  foot 
on  the  skull,  he  said, — 

"  So  this  is  the  creature  that  is  destined  to  be  my 
death." 

At  that  moment  a  deadly  serpent  that  lay  coiled 
up  within  the  skull  darted  out  and  fixed  its  poison- 
ous fangs  in  the  conqueror's  foot.  And  thus  ignobly 
he  who  had  slain  men  by  thousands  and  conquered 
an  empire  came  to  his  death. 


THE  VENGEANCE  OF  QUEEN 
OLGA, 

The  death  of  Oleg  brought  Igor  hia  ward,  then 
nearly  forty  years  of  age,  to  the  throne  of  Eurik  his 
father.  And  the  same  old  story  of  bloodshed  and 
barbarity  went  on.  In  those  days  a  king  was  king 
in  name  only.  He  was  really  but  the  chief  of  a 
band  of  plunderers,  who  dug  wealth  from  the  world 
with  the  sword  instead  of  the  spade,  threw  it  away 
in  wild  orgies,  and  then  hounded  him  into  leading 
them  to  new  wars. 

The  story  of  the  Northmen  is  everywhere  the 
same.  While  in  the  West  they  were  harrying  Eng- 
land, France,  and  the  Mediterranean  countries  with 
fire  and  sword,  in  the  East  their  Yarangian  kinsmen 
were  spreading  devastation  through  Eussia  and  the 
empire  of  the  Greeks. 

Like  his  predecessor,  Igor  invaded  this  empire 
with  a  great  army,  landing  in  Asia  Minor  and  treat- 
ing the  people  with  such  brutal  ferocity  that  no  earth- 
quake or  volcano  could  have  shown  itself  more  mer- 
ciless. His  prisoners  were  slaughtered  in  the  most 
barbarous  manner,  fire  swept  away  all  that  havoc  had 
left,  and  then  the  Eussian  prince  sailed  in  triumph 
against  Constantinople,  with  his  ten  thousand  barks 
manned  by  murderers  and  laden  with  plunder. 

21 


22  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

But  the  Greeks  were  now  ready  for  their  foes. 
Pouring  on  them  the  terrible  Greek  fire,  they  drove 
them  back  in  dismay  to  Asia  Minor,  where  they  were 
met  and  routed  by  the  land  forces  of  the  empire.  In 
the  end  Igor  hurried  home  with  hardly  a  third  of 
his  great  army. 

Three  years  afterward  he  again  led  an  army  in 
boats  against  Constantinople,  but  this  time  he  was 
bought  off  by  a  tribute  of  gold,  silver,  and  precious 
stuffs,  as  Oleg  had  been  before  him. 

Igor  was  now  more  than  seventy  years  old,  and 
naturally  desired  to  spend  the  remainder  of  his  days 
in  peace,  but  his  followers  would  not  let  him  rest. 
The  spoils  and  tribute  of  the  Greeks  had  quickly 
disappeared  from  their  open  hands,  and  the  warlike 
profligates  demanded  new  plunder. 

"  We  are  naked,"  they  bitterly  complained,  "  while 
the  companions  of  Sveneld  have  beautiful  arms  and 
fine  clothing.  Come  with  us  and  levy  contributions, 
that  we  and  you  may  dwell  in  plenty  together." 

Igor  obeyed — he  could  not  well  help  himself — 
and  led  them  against  the  Drevlians,  a  neighboring 
nation  already  under  tribute.  Marching  into  their 
country,  he  forced  them  to  pay  still  heavier  tribute, 
and  allowed  his  soldiers  to  plunder  to  their  hearts' 
content. 

Then  the  warriors  of  Kief  marched  back,  laden 
with  spoils.  But  the  wolfish  instincts  of  Igor  were 
aroused.  More,  he  thought,  might  be  squeezed  out 
of  the  Drevlians,  but  he  wanted  this  extra  plunder  for 
himself.  So  he  sent  his  army  on  to  Kief,  and  went 
back  with  a  small  force  to  the  country  of  the  Drev- 


THE  VENGEANCE  OF  QUEEN  OLQA.        23 

lians,  where  he  held  out  his  hand — with  the  sword  in 
it — for  more. 

He  got  more  than  he  bargained  for.  The  Drev- 
lians,  driven  to  extremity,  came  with  arms  instead 
of  gold,  attacked  the  king  and  his  few  followers, 
and  killed  the  whole  of  them  upon  the  spot.  And 
thus  in  blood  ended  the  career  of  this  white-haired 
tribute-seeker. 

The  fallen  prince  left  behind  him  a  widow  named 
Olga  and  a  son  named  Sviatoslaf,  who  was  still  a 
child,  as  Igor  had  been  at  the  death  of  his  father. 
So  Olga  became  regent  of  the  kingdom,  and  Sveneld 
was  made  leader  of  the  army. 

How  deeply  Olga  loved  Igor  we  are  not  prepared 
to  say,  but  we  are  told  some  strange  tales  of  what 
she  did  to  avenge  him.  These  tales  we  may  believe 
or  not,  as  we  please.  They  are  legends  only,  like 
those  of  early  Eome,  but  they  are  all  the  history  we 
have,  and  so  we  repeat  the  story  much  as  old  Nestor 
has  told  it. 

The  death  of  Igor  filled  the  hearts  of  the  Drevlians 
with  hope.  Their  great  enemy  was  gone ;  the  new 
prince  was  a  child :  might  they  not  gain  power  as 
well  as  liberty?  Their  prince  Male  should  marry 
Olga  the  widow,  and  all  would  be  well  with  them. 

So  twenty  of  their  leading  men  were  sent  to  Kief, 
where  they  presented  themselves  to  the  queenly  re- 
gent. Their  offer  of  an  alliance  was  made  in  terms 
suited  to  the  manners  of  the  times. 

"  We  have  killed  your  husband,"  they  said,  "  be- 
cause he  plundered  and  devoured  like  a  wolf.  But 
we  would  be  at  peace  with  you  and  yours.    We 


24  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

have  good  princes,  under  whom  our  country  thrives. 
Come  and  marry  our  prince  Male  and  be  our 
queen." 

Olga  listened  like  one  who  weighed  the  offer 
deeply. 

"  After  all,"  she  said,  "  my  husband  is  dead,  and  I 
cannot  bring  him  to  life  again.  Your  proposal  seems 
good  to  me.  Leave  me  now,  and  come  again  to- 
morrow, when  I  will  entertain  you  before  my  people 
as  you  deserve.  Eeturn  to  your  barks,  and  when 
my  people  come  to  you  to-morrow,  say  to  them, 
'  We  will  not  go  on  horseback  or  on  foot ;  you  must 
carry  us  in  our  barks.'  Thus  you  will  be  honored 
as  I  desire  you  to  be." 

Back  went  the  Drevlians,  glad  at  heart,  for  the 
queen  had  seemed  to  them  very  gracious  indeed. 
But  Olga  had  a  deep  and  wide  pit  dug  before  a  house 
outside  the  city,  and  next  day  she  went  to  that  house 
and  sent  for  the  ambassadors. 

"  We  will  not  go  on  foot  or  on  horseback,"  they 
said  to  the  messengers ;  "  carry  us  in  our  barks." 

"  We  are  your  slaves,"  answered  the  men  of  Kief. 
"Our  ruler  is  slain,  and  our  princess  is  willing  to 
marry  your  prince." 

So  they  took  up  on  their  shoulders  the  barks,  in 
which  the  Drevlians  proudly  sat  like  kings  on  their 
thrones,  and  carried  them  to  the  front  of  the  house 
in  which  Olga  awaited  them  with  smiling  Kps  but 
ruthless  heart. 

There,  at  a  sign  from  her  hand,  the  ambassadors 
and  the  barks  in  which  they  sat  were  flung  head- 
long into  the  yawning  pit. 


THE  VENGEANCE  OF  QUEEN  OLQA.        25 

"  How  do  you  like  your  entertainment  ?"  asked  the 
cruel  queen. 

"  Oh  !"  they  cried,  in  terror,  "  pity  us !  Forgive  us 
the  death  of  Igor!" 

But  they  begged  in  vain,  for  at  her  command  the 
pit  was  filled  up  and  the  Drevlians  were  buried 
alive. 

Then  Olga  sent  messengers  to  the  land  of  the 
Drevlians,  with  this  message  to  their  prince : 

"  If  you  really  wish  for  me,  send  me  men  of  the 
highest  consideration  in  your  country,  that  my 
people  may  be  induced  to  let  me  go,  and  that  I  may 
come  to  you  with  honor  and  dignity." 

This  message  had  its  effect.  Tiae  chief  men  of 
the  country  were  now  sent  as  ambassadors.  They 
entered  Kief  over  the  grave  of  their  murdered 
countrymen  without  knowing  where  they  trod,  and 
came  to  the  palace  expecting  to  be  hospitably  enter- 
tained. 

Olga  had  a  bath  made  ready  for  them,  and  sent 
them  word, — 

"  First  take  a  bath,  that  you  may  refresh  your- 
selves after  the  fatigue  of  your  journey,  then  come 
into  my  presence." 

The  bath  was  heated,  and  the  Drevlians  entered  it. 
But,  to  their  dismay,  smoke  soon  began  to  circle 
round  them,  and  flames  flashed  on  their  frightened 
eyes.  They  ran  to  the  doors,  but  they  were  im- 
movable. Olga  had  ordered  them  to  be  made  fast 
and  the  house  to  be  set  on  fire,  and  the  miserable 
bathers  were  all  burned  alive. 

But  even   this  terrible  revenge  was  not  enough 


26  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

for  the  implacable  widow.  Those  were  days  when 
news  crept  slowly,  and  the  Drevlians  did  not  dream 
of  Olga's  treachery.  Once  more  she  sent  them  a 
deceitful  message  :  "  I  am  about  to  repair  to  you,  and 
beg  you  to  get  ready  a  large  quantity  of  hydromel 
in  the  place  where  my  husband  was  killed,  that  I 
may  weep  over  his  tomb  and  honor  him  with  the 
trizna  [funeral  banquet]." 

The  Drevlians,  full  of  joy  at  this  message,  gathered 
honey  in  quantities  and  brewed  it  into  hydromel. 
Then  Olga  sought  the  tomb,  followed  by  a  small 
guard  who  were  only  lightly  armed.  For  a  while 
she  wept  over  the  tomb.  Then  she  ordered  a  great 
mound  of  honor  to  be  heaped  over  it.  When  this 
was  done  she  directed  the  trizna  to  be  set  out. 

The  Drevlians  drank  freely,  while  the  men  of  Kief 
served  them  with  the  intoxicating  beverage. 

"  Where  are  the  friends  whom  we  sent  to  you  ?" 
they  asked. 

"  They  are  coming  with  the  friends  of  my  hus- 
band," she  replied. 

And  so  the  feast  went  on  until  the  unsuspecting 
Drevlians  were  stupid  with  drink.  Then  Olga  bade 
her  guards  draw  their  weapons  and  slay  her  foes, 
and  a  great  slaughter  began.  When  it  ended,  five 
thousand  Drevlians  lay  dead  at  her  feet. 

Olga's  revenge  was  far  from  being  complete :  her 
thirst  for  blood  grew  as  it  was  fed.  She  returned 
to  Kief,  collected  her  army,  took  her  young  son  with 
her  that  he  might  early  learn  the  art  of  war,  and  re- 
turned inspired  by  the  rage  of  vengeance  to  the  land 
of  the  Drevlians. 


THE  VENGEANCE  OP  QUEEN  OLQA.        27 

Here  she  laid  waste  the  country  and  destroyed 
the  towns.  In  the  end  she  came  to  the  capital, 
Korosten,  and  laid  siege  to  it.  Its  name  meant 
"  wall  of  bark,"  so  that  it  was,  no  doubt,  a  town 
of  wood,  as  probably  all  the  Eussian  towns  at  that 
time  were. 

The  siege  went  on,  but  the  inhabitants  defended 
themselves  obstinately,  for  they  knew  now  the  spirit 
of  the  woman  with  whom  they  had  to  contend.  So 
a  long  time  passed  and  Korosten  still  held  out. 

Finding  that  force  would  not  serve,  Olga  tried 
stratagem,  in  which  she  was  such  an  adept. 

"  Why  do  you  hold  out  so  foolishly  ?"  she  said. 
"  You  know  that  all  your  other  towns  are  in  my 
power,  and  your  countrypeople  are  peacefully  till- 
ing their  fields  while  you  are  uselessly  dying  of 
hunger.  You  would  be  wise  to  yield ;  you  have  no 
more  to  fear  from  me ;  I  have  taken  full  revenge  for 
my  slain  husband." 

The  Drevlians,  to  conciliate  her,  offered  a  tribute 
of  honey  and  furs.  This  she  refused,  with  a  show 
of  generosity,  and  said  that  she  would  ask  no  more 
from  them  than  a  tribute  of  a  pigeon  and  three 
sparrows  from  each  house. 

Gladdened  by  the  lightness  of  this  request,  the 
Drevlians  quickly  gathered  the  birds  asked  for,  and 
sent  them  out  to  the  invading  army.  They  did  not 
dream  what  treachery  lay  in  Olga's  cruel  heart. 
That  evening  she  let  all  the  birds  loose  with  lighted 
matches  tied  to  their  tails.  Back  to  their  nests  in 
the  town  they  flew,  and  soon  Korosten  was  in  flames 
in  a  thousand  places. 


28  HISTORICAL  TALES. 

In  terror  the  inhabitants  fled  through  their  gates, 
but  the  soldiers  of  the  bloodthirsty  queen  awaited 
them  outside,  sword  in  hand,  with  orders  to  cut 
them  down  without  mercy  as  they  appeared.  The 
prince  and  all  the  leading  men  of  the  state  perished, 
and  only  the  lowest  of  the  populace  were  left  alive, 
while  the  whole  land  thereafter  was  laid  under  a 
load  of  tribute  so  heavy  that  it  devastated  the 
country  like  an  invading  army  and  caused  the 
people  to  groan  bitterly  beneath  the  burden. 

And  thus  it  was  that  Olga  the  widow  took  re- 
venge upon  the  murderers  of  her  fallen  lord. 


VLADIMIR  THE  GREAT. 

Vladimir,  Grand  Prince  of  Eussia  before  and 
after  the  year  1000,  won  the  name  not  only  of 
Vladimir  the  Great  but  of  St.  Vladimir,  though  he 
was  as  great  a  reprobate  as  he  was  a  soldier  and 
monarch,  and  as  unregenerate  a  sinner  as  ever  sat 
on  a  throne.  But  it  was  he  who  made  Eussia  a 
Christian  country,  and  in  reward  the  Eussian  Church 
still  looks  upon  him  as  "  coequal  with  the  Apostles." 
What  he  did  to  deserve  this  high  honor  we  shall  see. 

Sviatoslaf,  the  son  of  Olga,  had  proved  a  hardy 
soldier.  He  disdained  the  palace  and  lived  in  the 
camp.  In  his  marches  he  took  no  tent  or  baggage, 
but  slept  in  the  open  air,  lived  on  horse-flesh  broiled 
by  himself  upon  the  coals,  and  showed  all  the  en- 
durance of  a  Cossack  warrior  born  in  the  snows. 
After  years  of  warfare  he  fell  on  the  field  of  battle, 
and  his  skull,  ornamented  with  a  circle  of  gold, 
became  a  drinking-cup  for  the  prince  of  the  Petche- 
negans,  by  whose  hands  he  had  been  slain.  His 
empire  was  divided  between  his  three  sons,  Yaropolk 
reigning  in  Kief,  Oleg  becoming  prince  of  the  Drev- 
lians,  and  Vladimir  taking  Eurik's  old  capital  of 
Novgorod. 

These  brothers  did  not  long  dwell  in  harmony. 
War  broke  out  between  Yaropolk  and  Oleg,  and  the 
latter  was  killed.     Vladimir,  fearing  that  his  turn 

29 


30  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

would  come  next,  fled  to  the  country  of  the  Varan- 
gians, and  Yaropolk  became  lord  over  all  Eussia.  It 
is  the  story  of  the  fugitive  prince,  and  how  he  made 
his  way  from  flight  to  empire  and  from  empire  to 
sainthood,  that  we  are  now  about  to  tell. 

For  two  years  Yladimir  dwelt  with  his  Yarangian 
kinsmen,  during  which  time  he  lived  the  wild  life  of 
a  Norseman,  joining  the  bold  vikings  in  their  raids 
for  booty  far  and  wide  over  the  seas  of  Europe. 
Then,  gathering  a  large  band  of  Yarangian  adven- 
turers, he  returned  to  Novgorod,  drove  out  the  men 
of  Yaropolk,  and  sent  word  by  them  to  his  brother 
that  he  would  soon  call  upon  him  at  Kief. 

Yladimir  quickly  proved  himself  a  prince  of  bar- 
barian instincts.  In  Polotsk  ruled  Eogvolod,  a  Ya- 
rangian prince,  whose  daughter  Eogneda,  famed  for 
her  beauty,  was  betrothed  to  Yaropolk.  Yladimir 
demanded  her  hand,  but  received  an  insulting  reply. 

"  I  will  never  unboot  the  son  of  a  slave,"  said  the 
haughty  princess. 

It  was  the  custom  at  that  time  for  brides,  on  the 
wedding  night,  to  pull  off  the  boots  of  their  husbands ; 
and  Yladimir's  mother  had  been  one  of  Queen  Olga's 
slave  women. 

But  insults  like  this,  to  men  like  Yladimir,  are 
apt  to  breed  bloodshed.  Hot  with  revengeful  fury, 
he  marched  against  Polotsk,  killed  in  battle  Eog- 
volod and  his  two  sons,  and  forced  the  disdainful 
princess  to  accept  his  hand  still  red  with  her  father's 
blood. 

Then  he  marched  against  Kief,  where  Yaropolk, 
who  seems  to  have  had  more  ambition  than  courage, 


VLADIMIR  THE   GREAT.  31 

shut  himself  uj)  within  the  walls.  These  walls  were 
strong,  the  people  were  faithful,  and  Kief  might  long 
have  defied  its  assailant  had  not  treachery  dwelt 
within.  Yladimir  had  secretly  bought  over  a  villain 
named  Blude,  one  of  Yaropolk's  trusted  councillors, 
who  filled  his  master's  mind  with  suspicion  of  the 
people  of  Kief  and  persuaded  him  to  fly  for  safety. 
His  flight  gave  Kief  into  his  brother's  hands. 

To  Eodnia  fled  the  fugitive  prince,  where  he  was 
closely  besieged  by  Yladimir,  to  whose  aid  came  a 
famine  so  fierce  that  it  still  gives  point  to  a  common 
Eussian  proverb.  Flight  or  surrender  became  neces- 
sary. Yaropolk  might  have  found  strong  friends 
among  some  of  the  powerful  native  tribes,  but  the 
voice  of  the  traitor  was  still  at  his  ear,  and  at  Blude's 
suggestion  he  gave  himself  up  to  Yladimir.  It  was 
like  the  sheep  yielding  himself  to  the  wolf.  By  the 
victor's  order  Yaropolk  was  slain  in  his  father's 
palace. 

And  now  the  traitor  sought  his  reward.  Yladimir 
felt  that  it  was  to  Blude  he  owed  his  empire,  and  for 
three  days  he  so  loaded  him  with  honors  and  dig- 
nities that  the  false-hearted  wretch  deemed  himself 
the  greatest  among  the  Eussians. 

But  the  villain  had  been  playing  with  edge  tools. 
At  the  end  of  the  three  days  Yladimir  called  Blude 
before  him. 

"  I  have  kept  all  my  promises  to  you,"  he  said. 
"I  have  treated  you  as  my  friend;  your  honors  ex- 
ceed your  highest  wishes;  I  have  made  you  lord 
among  my  lords.  But  now,"  he  continued,  and  his 
voice  grew  terrible,  "  the  judge  succeeds  the  bene- 


32  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

factor.  Traitor  and  assassin  of  your  prince,  I  con- 
demn you  to  death." 

And  at  his  stern  command  the  startled  and  trem- 
bling traitor  was  struck  dead  in  his  presence. 

The  tide  of  affairs  had  strikingly  turned.  Yladi- 
mir,  late  a  fugitive,  was  now  lord  of  all  the  realm 
of  Eussia.  His  power  assured,  he  showed  himself 
in  a  new  aspect.  Yaropolk's  widow,  a  Greek  nun 
of  great  beauty,  was  forced  to  become  his  wife. 
Not  content  with  two,  he  continued  to  marry  until 
he  had  no  less  than  six  wives,  while  he  filled  his  pal- 
aces with  the  daughters  of  his  subjects  until  they 
numbered  eight  hundred  in  all. 

"  Thereby  hangs  a  tale,"  as  Shakespeare  says. 
Eogneda,  Vladimir's  first  wife,  had  forgiven  him  for 
the  murder  of  her  father  and  brothers,  but  could 
not  forgive  him  for  the  insult  of  turning  her  out  of 
his  palace  and  putting  other  women  in  her  place. 
She  determined  to  be  revenged. 

One  day  when  he  had  gone  to  see  her  in  the 
lonely  abode  to  which  she  had  been  banished,  he  fell 
asleep  in  her  presence.  Here  was  the  opportunity 
her  heart  craved.  Seizing  a  dagger,  she  was  on  the 
point  of  stabbing  him  where  he  lay,  when  Yladimir 
awoke  and  stopped  the  blow.  While  the  frightened 
woman  stood  trembling  before  him,  he  furiously  bade 
her  prepare  for  death,  as  she  should  die  by  his  own 
hand. 

"Put  on  your  wedding  dress,"  he  harshly  com- 
manded ;  "  seek  your  handsomest  apartment,  and 
stretch  yourself  on  the  sumptuous  bed  you  there 
possess.     Die  you  must,  but  you  have  been  honored 


VLADIMIR  THE   GREAT.  33 

as  the  wife  of  Yladimir,  and  shall  not  meet  an  ig- 
noble death." 

Eogneda  did  as  she  was  bidden,  yet  hope  had  not 
left  her  heart,  and  she  taught  her  young  son  Isiaslaf 
a  part  which  she  wished  him  to  play.  When  the 
frowning  prince  entered  the  apartment  where  lay 
his  condemned  wife,  he  was  met  by  the  boy,  who 
presented  him  with  a  drawn  sword,  saying,  "You 
are  not  alone,  father.  Your  son  will  be  witness  to 
your  deed." 

Yladimir's  expression  changed  as  he  looked  at  the 
appealing  face  of  the  child. 

"  Who  thought  of  seeing  you  here  ?"  he  cried,  and, 
flinging  the  sword  to  the  floor,  he  hastily  left  the 
room. 

Calling  his  nobles  together,  he  told  them  what  had 
happened  and  asked  their  advice. 

"Prince,"  they  said,  "you  should  spare  the  cul- 
prit for  the  sake  of  the  child.  Our  advice  is  that 
you  make  the  boy  lord  of  Kogvolod's  principality." 

Yladimir  did  so,  sending  Eogneda  with  her  son  to 
rule  over  her  father's  realm,  where  he  built  a  new 
city  which  he  named  after  the  boy. 

Yladimir  had  been  born  a  pagan,  and  a  pagan  he 
was  still,  worshipping  the  Yarangian  deities,  in  par- 
ticular the  god  Perune,  of  whom  he  had  a  statue 
erected  on  a  hill  near  his  palace,  adorned  with  a 
silver  head.  On  the  same  sacred  hill  were  planted 
the  statues  of  other  idols,  and  Yladimir  proposed  to 
restore  the  old  human  sacrifices  by  offering  one  of 
his  own  people  as  a  victim  to  the  gods. 

For  this  purpose  there  was  selected  a  young  Ya- 
3 


34  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

rangian  who,  with  his  father,  had  adopted  the  Chris- 
tian faith.  The  father  refused  to  give  up  his  son, 
and  the  enraged  people,  who  looked  on  the  refusal  as 
an  insult  to  their  prince  and  their  gods,  broke  into 
the  house  and  naurdered  both  father  and  son.  These 
two  have  since  been  canonized  by  the  Eussian  Church 
as  the  only  martyrs  to  its  faith. 

Vladimir  by  this  time  had  become  great  in  do- 
minion, his  warlike  prowess  extending  the  borders 
of  Hussia  on  all  sides.  The  nations  to  the  south 
saw  that  a  great  kingdom  had  arisen  on  their  north- 
ern border,  ruled  by  a  warlike  and  conquering  prince, 
and  it  was  deemed  wise  to  seek  to  win  him  from  the 
worship  of  idols  to  a  more  elevated  faith.  Askhold 
and  Dir  had  been  baptized  as  Christians.  Olga, 
after  her  bloody  revenge,  had  gone  to  Constantinople 
and  been  baptized  by  the  patriarch.  But  the  nation 
continued  pagan,  Yladimir  was  an  idolater  in  grain, 
and  a  great  field  lay  open  for  missionary  zeal. 

No  less  than  four  of  the  peoples  of  the  south 
sought  to  make  a  convert  of  this  powerful  prince. 
The  Bulgarians  endeavored  to  win  him  to  the  re- 
ligion of  Mohammed,  picturing  to  him  in  alluring 
language  the  charms  of  their  paradise,  with  its 
lovely  houris.  But  he  must  give  up  wine.  This 
was  more  than  he  was  ready  to  do. 

"  Wine  is  the  delight  of  the  Russians,"  he  said  : 
"  we  cannot  do  without  it." 

The  envoys  of  the  Catholic  Church,  the  Greek 
Church,  and  the  Jewish  Church  also  sought  to  win 
him  over.  But  the  Germans,  who  offered  him  Ca- 
tholicism, were  repelled  with  the  remark  that  it  was 


VLADIMIR   THE   GREAT.  35 

monstrous  that  the  pope  of  Eome  should  set  up  as  a 
deity  upon  earth.  As  for  the  Jews,  they  had  no 
country,  and  he  was  not  inclined  to  join  hands  with 
wanderers  under  the  ban  of  Heaven.  The  religion 
of  the  Greek  Church,  whose  claims  were  presented 
to  him  by  an  advocate  from  its  central  city,  appealed 
to  him  most  strongly,  for  had  it  not  been  accepted 
by  his  grandmother,  Olga  the  queen  ? 

As  may  be  seen,  religion  with  Yladimir  was  far 
more  a  matter  of  policy  than  of  piety.  The  gods 
of  his  fathers,  to  whom  he  had  done  such  honor,  had 
no  abiding  place  in  his  heart ;  and  that  belief  which 
would  be  most  to  his  advantage  was  for  him  the  best. 

To  settle  the  question  he  sent  ten  of  his  chief 
boyars,  or  nobles,  to  the  south,  that  they  might 
examine  and  report  on  the  religions  of  the  differ- 
ent countries.  They  were  not  long  in  coming  to  a 
decision.  Mohammedanism  and  Catholicism,  they 
said,  they  had  found  only  in  poor  and  barbarous  prov- 
inces. Judaism  had  no  land  to  call  its  own.  But  the 
Greek  faith  dwelt  in  a  magnificent  metropolis,  and 
its  ceremonies  were  full  of  pomp  and  solemnity. 

"  If  the  Greek  religion  were  not  the  best,"  they 
said,  in  conclusion,  "  Olga,  your  ancestress,  and  the 
wisest  of  mortals,  would  never  have  thought  of  em- 
bracing it." 

Pomp  and  solemnity  won  the  day,  and  Yladimir 
determined  to  follow  Olga's  example.  As  to  what 
religion  meant  in  itself  he  seems  to  have  thought 
little  and  cared  less.  His  method  of  becoming  a 
Christian  was  so  original  that  it  is  well  worth  the 
telling. 


36  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

Since  the  days  of  Olga  Kief  had  possessed  Christian 
churches  and  priests,  and  Yladimir  might  easily  have 
been  baptized  without  leaving  home.  But  this  was 
far  too  simple  a  process  for  a  prince  of  his  dignity. 
He  must  be  baptized  by  a  bishop  of  the  parent 
Church,  and  the  missionaries  who  were  to  convert 
his  people  must  come  from  the  central  home  of  the 
faith. 

Should  he  ask  the  emperor  for  the  rite  of  bap- 
tism ?  ]S"ot  he  ;  it  would  be  too  much  like  rendering 
homage  to  a  prince  no  greater  than  himself.  The 
haughty  barbarian  found  himself  in  a  quandary; 
but  soon  he  discovered  a  promising  way  out  of  it. 
He  would  make  war  on  Greece,  conquer  priests  and 
churches,  and  by  force  of  arms  obtain  instruction 
and  baptism  in  the  new  faith.  Surely  never  before 
or  since  was  a  war  waged  with  the  object  of  win- 
ning a  new  religion. 

Gathering  a  large  army,  Yladimir  marched  to  the 
Crimea,  where  stood  the  rich  and  powerful  Greek 
city  of  Kherson.  The  ruins  of  this  city  may  still 
be  seen  near  the  modern  Sevastopol.  To  it  he  laid 
siege,  warning  the  inhabitants  that  it  would  be  wise 
in  them  to  yield,  for  he  was  prepared  to  remain 
three  years  before  their  walls. 

The  Khersonites  proved  obstinate,  and  for  six 
months  he  besieged  them  closely.  But  no  progress 
was  made,  and  it  began  to  look  as  if  Yladimir  would 
never  become  a  Christian  in  his  chosen  mode.  A 
traitor  within  the  walls,  however,  solved  the  diffi- 
culty. He  shot  from  the  ramparts  an  arrow  to 
which. a  letter  was  attached,  in  which  the  Eussians 


VLADIMIR  THE   GREAT.  37 

were  told  that  the  city  obtained  all  its  fresh  water 
from  a  spring  near  their  camp,  to  which  ran  under- 
ground pipes.  Yladimir  cut  the  pipes,  and  the  city, 
in  peril  of  the  horrors  of  thirst,  was  forced  to  yield. 

Baptism  was  now  to  be  had  from  the  parent 
source,  but  Yladimir  was  still  not  content.  He  de- 
manded to  be  united  by  ties  of  blood  to  the  emperors 
of  the  southern  realm,  asking  for  the  hand  of  Anna, 
the  emperor's  sister,  and  threatening  to  take  Con- 
stantinople if  his  proposal  were  rejected. 

Never  before  had  a  convert  come  with  such  con- 
ditions. The  princess  Anna  had  no  desire  for  mar- 
riage with  this  haughty  barbarian,  but  reasons  of 
state  were  stronger  than  questions  of  taste,  and  the 
emperors  (there  were  two  of  them  at  that  time) 
yielded.  Yladimir,  having  been  baptized  under  the 
name  of  Basil,  married  the  princess  Anna,  and  the 
city  he  had  taken  as  a  token  of  his  pious  zeal  was 
restored  to  his  new  kinsmen.  All  that  he  took  back 
to  Eussia  with  him  were  a  Christian  wife,  some 
bishops  and  priests,  sacred  vessels  and  books,  images 
of  saints,  and  a  number  of  consecrated  relics. 

Yladimir  displayed  a  zeal  in  his  new  faith  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  trouble  he  had  taken  to  win  it. 
The  old  idols  he  had  worshipped  were  now  the  most 
despised  inmates  of  his  realm.  Perune,  as  the 
greatest  of  them  all,  was  treated  with  the  greatest 
indignity.  The  wooden  image  of  the  god  was  tied 
to  the  tail  of  a  horse  and  dragged  to  the  Borysthenes, 
twelve  stout  soldiers  belaboring  it  with  cudgels  as  it 
went.  The  banks  reached,  it  was  flung  with  disdain 
into  the  river. 


38  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

At  Novgorod  the  god  was  treated  with  like  indig- 
nity, but  did  not  bear  it  with  equal  patience.  The 
story  goes  that,  being  flung  from  a  bridge  into  the 
Yolkhof,  the  image  of  Perune  rose  to  the  surface  of 
the  water,  threw  a  staif  upon  the  bridge,  and  cried 
out  in  a  terrifying  voice,  "  Citizens,  that  is  what  I 
leave  you  in  remembrance  of  me." 

In  consequence  of  this  legend  it  was  long  the 
custom  in  that  city,  on  the  day  which  was  kept  as 
the  anniversary  of  the  god,  for  the  young  people  to 
run  about  with  sticks  in  their  hands,  striking  one 
another  unawares. 

As  for  the  Eussians  in  general,  they  discarded 
their  old  worship  as  easily  as  the  prince  had  thrown 
overboard  their  idols.  One  day  a  proclamation  was 
issued  at  Kief,  commanding  all  the  people  to  repair 
to  the  river-bank  the  next  day,  there  to  be  baptized. 
They  assented  without  a  murmur,  saying,  "  If  it  were 
not  good  to  be  baptized,  the  prince  and  the  boyars 
would  never  submit  to  it." 

These  were  not  the  only  signs  of  Vladimir's  zeal. 
He  built  churches,  he  gave  alms  freely,  he  set  out 
public  repasts  in  imitation  of  the  love-feasts  of  the 
early  Christians.  His  piety  went  so  far  that  he 
even  forbore  to  shed  the  blood  of  criminals  or  of 
the  enemies  of  his  country. 

But  horror  of  bloodshed  did  not  lie  long  on  Vladi- 
mir's conscience.  In  his  later  life  he  had  wars  in 
plenty,  and  the  blood  of  his  enemies  was  shed  as 
freely  as  water.  These  wars  were  largely  against 
the  Petchenegans,  the  most  powerful  of  his  foes. 
And  in  connection  with  them  there  is  a  story  extant 


VLADIMIR   THE   GREAT.  39 

which  has  its  parallel  in  the  history  of  many  another 
country. 

It  seems  that  in  one  of  their  campaigns  the  two 
armies  came  face  to  face  on  the  opposite  sides  of  a 
small  stream.  The  prince  of  the  Petchenegans  now 
proposed  to  Yladimir  to  settle  their  quarrel  by  single 
combat  and  thus  spare  the  lives  of  their  people. 
The  side  whose  champion  was  vanquished  should 
bind  itself  to  a  peace  lasting  for  three  years. 

Yladimir  was  loath  to  consent,  as  he  felt  sure  that 
his  opponents  had  ready  a  champion  of  mighty 
power.  He  felt  forced  in  honor  to  accept  the  chal- 
lenge, but  asked  for  delay  that  he  might  select  a 
worthy  champion. 

Whom  to  select  he  knew  not.  No  soldier  of  su- 
perior strength  and  skill  presented  himself  Un- 
easiness and  agitation  filled  his  mind.  But  at  this 
critical  interval  an  old  man,  who  served  in  the  army 
with  four  of  his  sons,  came  to  him,  saying  that  he 
had  at  home  a  fifth  son  of  extraordinary  strength, 
whom  he  would  ofi'er  as  champion. 

The  young  man  was  sent  for  in  great  haste.  On 
his  arrival,  to  test  his  powers,  a  bull  was  sent  against 
him  which  had  been  goaded  into  fury  with  hot  irons. 
The  young  giant  stopped  the  raging  brute,  knocked 
him  down,  and  tore  off  great  handfuls  of  his  skin 
and  flesh.  Hope  came  to  Yladimir's  soul  on  witness- 
ing this  wonderful  feat. 

The  day  arrived.  The  champions  advanced  be- 
tween the  camps.  The  Petchenegan  warrior  laughed 
in  scorn  on  seeing  his  beardless  antagonist.  But 
when  they  came  to  blows  he  found  himself  seized 


40  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

and  crushed  as  in  a  vice  in  the  arms  of  his  boyish 
foe,  and  was  flung,  a  lifeless  body,  to  the  earth.  On 
seeing  this  the  Petchenegans  fled  in  dismay,  while 
the  Eussians,  forgetting  their  pledge,  pursued  and 
slaughtered  them  without  mercy. 

yiadimir  at  length  (1015  a.d.)  came  to  his  end. 
His  son  Yaroslaf,  whom  he  had  made  ruler  of  Nov- 
gorod, had  refused  to  pay  tribute,  and  the  old  prince, 
forced  to  march  against  his  rebel  son,  died  of  grief 
on  the  way. 

With  all  his  faults,  Vladimir  deserved  the  title  of 
Great  which  his  country  has  given  him.  He  put 
down  the  turbulent  tribes,  planted  colonies  in  the 
desert,  built  towns,  and  embellished  his  cities  with 
churches,  palaces,  and  other  buildings,  for  which 
workmen  were  brought  from  Grreece.  Eussia  grew 
rapidly  under  his  rule.  He  established  schools  which 
the  sons  of  the  nobles  were  made  to  attend.  And 
though  he  was  but  a  poor  pattern  for  a  saint,  he  had 
the  merit  of  finding  Eussia  pagan  and  leaving  it 
Christian. 


CATHEDRAL  AT  OSTANKINO,  NEAR   MOSCOW. 


THE  LAWGIVER  OF  RUSSIA. 

The  Eussia  of  the  year  1000  lay  deep  in  the  age 
of  barbarism.  Vladimir  had  made  it  Christian  in 
name,  but  it  was  far  from  Christian  in  thought  or 
deed.  It  was  a  land  without  fixed  laws,  without  set- 
tled government,  without  schools,  without  civilized 
customs,  but  with  abundance  of  ignorance,  cruelty, 
and  superstition. 

It  was  strangely  made  up.  In  the  north  lay  the 
great  commercial  city  of  Novgorod,  which,  though 
governed  by  princes  of  the  house  of  Eurik,  was  a  re- 
public in  form  and  in  fact.  It  possessed  its  popular 
assembly,  of  which  every  citizen  was  a  member  with 
full  right  to  vote,  and  at  whose  meetings  the  prince 
was  not  permitted  to  appear.  The  sound  of  a  famous 
bell,  the  Yetchevoy,  called  the  people  together,  to 
decide  on  questions  of  peace  and  war,  or  to  elect 
magistrates,  and  sometimes  the  bishop,  or  even  the 
prince.  The  prince  had  to  swear  to  carry  out  the 
ancient  laws  of  the  republic  and  not  attempt  to  lay 
taxes  on  the  citizens  or  to  interfere  with  their  trade. 
They  made  him  gifts,  but  paid  him  no  taxes.  They 
decided  how  many  hours  he  should  give  to  pleasure 
and  how  many  to  business  ;  and  they  expelled  some 
of  their  princes  who  thought  themselves  beyond  the 
power  of  the  laws. 

It  seems  t^trange  that  the  absolute  Eussia  of  to-day 

41 


42  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

should  then  have  possessed  one  of  the  freest  of  the 
cities  of  Europe.  Novgorod  was  not  only  a  city,  it 
was  a  state.  The  provinces  far  and  wide  around 
were  subject  to  it,  and  governed  by  its  prince,  who 
had  in  them  an  authority  much  greater  than  he  pos- 
sessed over  the  proud  civic  merchants  and  money 
lords. 

In  the  south,  on  the  contrary,  lay  the  great  im- 
perial city  of  Kief,  the  capital  of  the  realm,  and  the 
seat  of  a  government  as  arbitrary  as  that  of  Nov- 
gorod was  free.  Here  dwelt  the  grand  prince  as 
an  irresponsible  autocrat,  making  his  will  the  law, 
and  forcing  all  the  provinces,  even  haughty  Novgo- 
rod, to  pay  a  tax  which  bore  the  slavish  title  of 
tribute.  Here  none  could  vote,  no  assembly  of  citi- 
zens ever  met,  and  the  only  restraint  on  the  prince 
was  that  of  his  warlike  and  turbulent  nobles,  who 
often  forced  him  to  yield  to  their  wishes.  The  gov- 
ernment was  a  drifting  rather  than  a  settled  one. 
It  had  no  anchors  out,  but  was  moved  about  at  the 
whim  of  the  prince  and  his  unruly  lords. 

Under  these  two  forms  of  government  lay  still 
a  third.  Eural  Eussia  was  organized  on  a  demo- 
cratic principle  which  still  prevails  throughout  that 
broad  land.  This  is  the  principle  of  the  Mir,  or  vil- 
lage community,  which  most  of  the  people  of  the 
earth  once  possessed,  but  which  has  everywhere 
passed  away  except  in  Eussia  and  India.  It  is  the 
principle  of  the  commune,  of  public  instead  of  pri- 
vate property.  The  land  of  a  Eussian  village  belongs 
to  the  people  as  a  whole,  not  to  individuals.  It  is 
divided  up  among  them  for  tillage,  but  no  man  can 


THE   LAWGIVER   OF   RUSSIA.  43 

claim  the  fields  he  tills  as  his  own,  and  for  thousands 
of  years  what  is  known  as  communism  has  prevailed 
on  Eussian  soil. 

The  government  of  the  village  is  purely  democratic. 
All  the  people  meet  and  vote  for  their  village  magis- 
trate, who  decides,  with  the  aid  of  a  council  of  the 
elders,  all  the  questions  which  arise  within  its  con- 
fines, one  of  them  being  the  division  of  the  land. 
Thus  at  bottom  Russia  is  a  field  sown  thick  with  little 
communistic  republics,  though  at  top  it  is  a  despot- 
ism. The  government  of  Novgorod  doubtless  grew 
out  of  that  of  the  village.  The  republican  city  has 
long  since  passed  away,  but  the  seed  of  democracy 
remains  planted  deeply  in  the  village  community. 

All  this  is  preliminary  to  the  story  of  the  Eussian 
lawgiver  and  his  laws,  which  we  have  set  out  to  tell. 
This  famous  person  was  no  other  than  that  Yaroslaf, 
prince  of  Novgorod,  and  son  of  Yladimir  the  Great, 
whose  refusal  to  pay  tribute  had  caused  his  father  to 
die  of  grief. 

Yaroslaf  was  the  fifth  able  ruler  of  the  dynasty 
of  Eurik.  The  story  of  his  young  life  resembles 
that  of  his  father.  He  found  his  brother  strong  and 
threatening,  and  designed  to  fly  from  Novgorod  and 
join  the  Yarangians  as  a  viking  lord,  as  his  father 
had  done  before  him.  But  the  Novgorodians  proved 
his  friends,  destroyed  the  ships  that  were  to  carry 
him  away,  and  provided  him  with  money  to  raise  a 
new  army.  With  this  he  defeated  his  base  brother, 
who  had  already  killed  or  driven  into  exile  all  their 
other  brothers.  The  result  was  that  Yaroslof,  like 
his  father,  became  sovereign  of  all  Eussia. 


44  HISTORICAL  TALES. 

But  though  this  new  grand  prince  extended  his 
dominions  by  the  sword,  it  was  not  as  a  soldier,  but 
as  a  legislator,  that  he  won  fame.  His  genius  was 
not  shown  on  the  field  of  battle,  but  in  the  legislative 
council,  and  Eussia  reveres  Yaroslaf  the  Wise  as  its 
first  maker  of  laws. 

The  free  institutions  of  Novgorod,  of  which  we 
have  spoken,  were  by  him  sustained  and  strength- 
ened. Many  new  cities  were  founded  under  his  be- 
neficent rule.  Schools  were  widely  established,  in  one 
of  which  three  hundred  of  the  youth  of  Novgorod 
were  educated.  A  throng  of  Greek  priests  were 
invited  into  the  land,  since  there  were  none  of  Eus- 
sian  birth  to  whom  he  could  confide  the  duty  of 
teaching  the  young.  He  gave  toleration  to  the  idol- 
aters who  still  existed,  and  when  the  people  of  Suz- 
dal were  about  to  massacre  some  hapless  women 
whom  they  accused  of  having  brought  on  a  famine 
by  sorcery,  he  stayed  their  hands  and  saved  the 
poor  victims  from  death.  The  Eussian  Church  owed 
its  first  national  foundation  to  him,  for  he  declared 
that  the  bishops  of  the  land  should  no  longer  depend 
for  appointment  on  the  Patriarch  of  Constantinople. 

There  are  no  startling  or  dramatic  stories  to  be 
told  about  Yaroslaf  The  heroes  of  peace  are  not 
the  men  who  make  the  world's  dramas.  But  it  is 
pleasant,  after  a  season  spent  with  princes  who  lived 
for  war  and  revenge,  and  who  even  made  war  to 
obtain  baptism,  to  rest  awhile  under  the  green  boughs 
and  beside  the  pleasant  waters  of  a  reign  that  became 
famous  for  the  triumphs  of  peace. 

Under  Yaroslaf  Eussia  united  itself  by  ties  of 


THE  LAWGIVER  OF   RUSSIA.  45 

blood  to  Western  Europe.  His  sons  married  Greek, 
German,  and  English  princesses ;  his  sister  became 
queen  of  Poland ;  his  three  daughters  were  queens 
of  Norway,  Hungary,  and  France.  Scandinavian  in 
origin,  the  dynasty  of  Eurik  was  reaching  out  hands 
of  brotherhood  towards  its  kinsmen  in  the  West. 

But  it  is  as  a  law-maker  that  Yaroslaf  is  chiefly 
known.  Before  his  time  the  empire  had  no  fixed 
code  of  laws.  To  say  that  it  was  without  law  would 
not  be  correct.  Every  people,  however  ignorant, 
has  its  laws  of  custom,  unwritten  edicts,  the  birth 
of  the  ages,  which  have  grown  up  stage  by  stage, 
and  which  are  only  slowly  outgrown  as  the  tribe  de- 
velops into  the  nation. 

Eussia  had,  besides  Kovgorod,  other  commercial 
cities,  with  republican  institutions.  Kief  was  cer- 
tainly not  without  law.  And  the  many  tribes  of 
hunters,  shepherds,  and  farmers  must  have  had  their 
legal  customs.  But  with  all  this  there  was  no  code 
for  the  empire,  no  body  of  written  laws.  The  first 
of  these  was  prepared  about  1018  by  Yaroslaf,  for 
Novgorod  alone,  but  in  time  became  the  law  of  all 
the  land.  This  early  code  of  Eussian  law  is  a  re- 
markable one,  and  goes  farther  than  history  at  large 
in  teaching  us  the  degree  of  civilization  of  Eussia  at 
that  date. 

In  connection  with  it  the  chronicles  tell  a  curious 
story.  In  1018,  we  are  told,  Novgorod,  having  grown 
weary  of  the  insults  and  oppression  of  its  Varangian 
lords  and  warriors,  killed  them  all.  Angry  at  this, 
Yaroslaf  enticed  the  leading  Novgorodians  into  his 
palace  and  slaughtered  them  in  reprisal.     But  at 


46  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

this  critical  interval,  when  his  guards  were  slain 
and  his  subjects  in  rebellion,  he  found  himself 
threatened  by  his  ambitious  brother.  In  despair 
he  turned  to  the  Novgorodians  and  begged  with 
tears  for  pardon  and  assistance.  They  forgave  and 
aided  him,  and  by  their  help  made,  him  sovereign  of 
the  empire. 

How  far  this  is  true  it  is  impossible  to  say,  but  the 
code  of  Yaroslaf  was  promulgated  at  that  date,  and 
the  rights  given  to  Novgorod  showed  that  its  people 
held  the  reins  of  power.  It  confirmed  the  city  in 
the  ancient  liberties  of  which  we  have  already 
spoken,  giving  it  a  freedom  which  no  other  city  of 
its  time  surpassed.  And  it  laid  down  a  series  of  laws 
for  the  people  at  large  which  seem  very  curious  in 
this  enlightened  age.  It  must  suffice  to  give  the 
leading  features  of  this  ancient  code. 

It  began  by  sustaining  the  right  of  private  ven- 
geance. The  law  was  for  the  weak  alone,  the  strong 
being  left  to  avenge  their  own  wrongs.  The  punish- 
ment of  crime  was  provided  for  by  judicial  combats, 
which  the  law  did  not  even  regulate.  Every  strong 
man  was  a  law  unto  himself 

Where  no  avengers  of  crime  appeared,  murder 
was  to  be  settled  by  fines.  For  the  murder  of  a 
boyar  eighty  grivnas  were  to  be  paid,  and  forty  for 
the  murder  of  a  free  Eussian,  but  only  half  as  much 
if  the  victim  was  a  woman.  Here  we  have  a  stand- 
ard of  value  for  the  women  of  that  age. 

Nothing  was  paid  into  the  treasury  for  the  murder 
of  a  slave,  but  his  master  had  to  be  paid  his  value, 
unless  he  had  been  slain  for  insulting  a  freeman.    His 


THE   LAWGIVER   OF   RUSSIA.  47 

value  was  reckoned  according  to  his  occupation,  and 
ranged  from  twelve  to  five  grivnas. 

If  it  be  asked  what  was  the  value  of  a  grivna,  it 
may  be  said  that  at  that  time  there  was  little  coined 
money,  perhaps  none  at  all,  in  Eussia.  Gold  and 
silver  were  circulated  by  weight,  and  the  common 
currency  was  composed  of  pieces  of  skin,  called  kuni. 
A  grivna  was  a  certain  number  of  kunis  equal  in 
value  to  half  a  pound  of  silver,  but  the  kuni  often 
varied  in  value. 

All  prisoners  of  war  and  all  persons  bought  from 
foreigners  were  condemned  to  perpetual  slavery. 
Others  became  slaves  for  limited  periods, — freemen 
who  married  slaves,  insolvent  debtors,  servants  out 
of  employment,  and  various  other  classes.  As  the 
legal  interest  of  money  was  forty  per  cent.,  the  en- 
slavement of  debtors  must  have  been  very  common, 
and  Eussia  was  even  then  largely  a  land  of  slaves. 

The  loss  of  a  limb  was  fined  almost  as  severely 
as  that  of  a  life.  To  pluck  out  part  of  the  beard 
cost  four  times  as  much  as  to  cut  off  a  finger,  and 
insults  in  general  were  fined  four  times  as  heavily  as 
wounds.  Horse-stealing  was  punished  by  slavery. 
In  discovering  the  guilty  the  ordeals  of  red-hot  iron 
and  boiling  water  were  in  use,  as  in  the  countries  of 
the  West. 

There  were  three  classes  in  the  nation, — slaves, 
freemen,  and  boyars,  or  nobles,  the  last  being  proba- 
bly the  descendants  of  Eurik's  warriors.  The  prince 
was  the  heir  of  all  citizens  who  died  without  male 
children,  except  of  boyars  and  the  ofiicers  of  his 
guard. 


48  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

These  laws,  which  were  little  more  primitive  than 
those  of  Western  Europe  at  the  same  period,  seem 
never  to  have  imposed  corporal  punishment  for 
crime.  Injury  was  made  good  by  cash,  except  in 
the  case  of  the  combat.  The  fines  went  to  the  lord 
or  prince,  and  were  one  of  his  means  of  support,  the 
other  being  tribute  from  his  estates.  I^o  provision 
for  taxation  was  made.  The  mark  of  dependence  on 
the  prince  was  military  service,  the  lord,  as  in  the 
feudal  West,  being  obliged  to  provide  his  own  arms, 
provisions,  and  mounted  followers. 

Judges  there  were,  who  travelled  on  circuits,  and 
who  impanelled  twelve  respectable  jurors,  sworn  to 
give  just  verdicts.  There  are  several  laws  extend- 
ing protection  to  property,  fixed  and  movable,  which 
seem  specially  framed  for  the  merchants  of  Nov. 
gorod. 

Such  are  the  leading  features  of  the  code  of  Ya- 
roslaf.  The  franchises  granted  the  Novgorodians, 
which  for  four  centuries  gave  them  the  right  to  "  life, 
liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness,"  form  part  of 
it.  Crude  as  are  many  of  its  provisions,  it  forms  a 
vital  starting-point,  that  in  which  Eussia  first  came 
under  definite  in  place  of  indefinite  law.  And  the 
bringing  about  of  this  important  change  is  the  glory 
of  Yaroslaf  the  Wise. 


THE  YOKE  OF  THE  TARTARS. 

In  Asia,  the  greatest  continent  of  the  earth,  lies 
its  most  extensive  plain,  the  vast  plateau  of  Mongolia, 
whose  true  boundaries  are  the  mountains  of  Siberia 
and  the  Himalayan  highlands,  the  Pacific  Ocean  and 
the  hills  of  Eastern  Europe,  and  of  which  the  great 
plain  of  Kussia  is  but  an  outlying  section.  This 
mighty  plateau,  largely  a  desert,  is  the  home  of  the 
nomad  shepherd  and  warrior,  the  nesting-place  of 
the  emigrant  invader.  From  these  broad  levels  in 
the  past  horde  after  horde  of  savage  horsemen  rode 
over  Europe  and  Asia, — the  frightful  Huns,  the  de- 
vastating Turks,  the  desolating  Mongols.  It  is  with 
the  last  that  we  are  here  concerned,  for  Eussia  fell 
beneath  their  arms,  and  was  held  for  two  centuries  as 
a  captive  realm. 

The  nomads  are  born  warriors.  They  live  on 
horseback;  the  care  of  their  great  herds  teaches 
them  military  discipline ;  they  are  always  in  motion, 
have  no  cities  to  defend,  no  homes  to  abandon,  no 
crops  to  harvest.  Their  home  is  a  camp;  when 
they  move  it  moves  with  them ;  their  food  is  on  the 
hoof  and  accompanies  them  on  the  march  ;  they  can 
go  hungry  for  a  week  and  then  eat  like  cormorants ; 
their  tools  are  weapons,  always  in  hand,  always 
ready  to  use;  a  dozen  times  they  have  burst  like 

4  49 


50  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

a  devouring  torrent  from  their  desert  and  over- 
whelmed the  South  and  West. 

While  the  Turks  were  still  engaged  in  their  work 
of  conquest,  the  Mongols  arose,  and  under  the  for- 
midable Genghis  Khan  swept  over  Southern  Asia 
like  a  tornado,  leaving  death  and  desolation  in  their 
track.  The  conqueror  died  in  1227, — for  death  is  a  foe 
that  vanquishes  even  the  greatest  of  warriors, — and 
was  succeeded  by  his  son  Octoi,  as  Great  Khan  of 
the  Mongols  and  Tartars.  In  1235,  Baton,  nephew 
of  the  khan,  was  sent  with  an  army  of  half  a  mil- 
lion men  to  the  conquest  of  Europe. 

This  flood  of  barbarians  fell  upon  Eussia  at  an  un- 
fortunate time,  one  of  anarchy  and  civil  war,  when 
the  whole  nation  was  rent  and  torn  and  there  were 
almost  as  many  sovereigns  as  there  were  cities.  The 
system  of  giving  a  separate  dominion  to  every  son 
of  a  grand  prince  had  ruined  Russia.  These  small 
potentates  were  constantly  at  war,  confusion  reigned 
supreme.  Kief  was  taken  and  degraded  and  a  new 
capital,  yiadimir,  established,  and  Moscow,  which 
was  to  become  the  fourth  capital  of  Russia,  was 
founded.  Such  was  the  state  of  affairs  when  Ba- 
ton, with  his  vast  horde  of  savage  horsemen,  fell  on 
the  distracted  realm. 

Defence  was  almost  hopeless.  Russia  had  no  gov- 
ernment, no  army,  no  imperial  organization.  Each 
city  stood  for  itself,  with  great  widths  of  open 
country  around.  Over  these  broad  spaces  the  in- 
vaders swept  like  an  avalanche,  finding  cultivated 
fields  before  them,  leaving  a  desert  behind.  They 
swam  the  Don,  the  Yolga,  and  the  other  great  rivers 


THE   YOKE   OF   THE   TARTARS.  51 

on  their  horses,  or  crossed  them  on  the  ice.  Leathern 
boats  brought  over  their  wagons  and  artillery.  They 
spread  from  Livonia  to  the  Black  Sea,  poured  into 
the  kingdoms  of  the  West,  and  would  have  over- 
run all  Europe  but  for  the  vigorous  resistance  of 
the  knighthood  of  Germany. 

The  cities  of  Eussia  made  an  obstinate  defence, 
but  one  after  another  they  fell.  Some  saved  them- 
selves by  surrender.  Most  of  them  were  taken  by 
assault  and  destroyed.  City  after  city  was  reduced 
to  ashes,  none  of  the  inhabitants  being  left  to  de- 
plore their  fall.  The  nomads  had  no  use  for  cities. 
Walls  were  their  enemies:  pasturage  was  all  they 
cared  for.  The  conversion  of  a  country  into  a  desert 
was  to  them  a  gain  rather  than  a  loss,  for  grass  will 
grow  in  the  desert,  and  grass  to  feed  their  horses 
and  herds  was  what  they  most  desired. 

So  far  as  the  warriors  of  Mongolia  were  concerned, 
their  conquests  left  them  no  better  off.  They  still 
had  to  tend  and  feed  their  herds,  and  they  could 
have  done  that  as  well  in  their  native  land.  But 
the  leaders  had  the  lust  of  dominion,  their  followers 
the  blood-fury,  and  inspired  by  these  feelings  they 
ravaged  the  world. 

One  thing  alone  saved  Eussia  from  being  peopled 
by  Tartars, — its  climate.  This  was  not  to  their  liking, 
and  they  preferred  to  dwell  in  lands  better  suited  to 
their  tastes  and  habits.  The  great  Tartar  empire  of 
Kaptchak,  or  the  Golden  Horde,  was  founded  on  the 
eastern  frontier;  other  khanates  were  founded  in 
the  south ;  but  the  Eussian  princes  were  left  to 
rule  in  the  remainder  of  the  land,  under  tribute  to 


52  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

the  khans,  to  whom  they  were  forced  to  do  homage. 
In  truth,  these  Tartar  chiefs  made  themselves  lords 
paramount  of  the  Eussian  realm,  and  no  prince, 
great  or  small,  could  assume  the  government  of  his 
state  until  he  had  journeyed  to  Central  Mongolia  to 
beg  permission  to  rule  from  the  khan  of  the  Great 
Horde. 

The  subjection  of  the  princes  was  that  of  slaves. 
A  century  afterward  they  were  obliged  to  spread  a 
carpet  of  sable  fur  under  the  hoofs  of  the  steed  of 
the  khan's  envoy,  to  prostrate  themselves  at  his  feet 
and  learn  his  mission  on  their  knees,  and  not  only  to 
present  a  cup  of  koumiss  to  the  barbarian,  but  even 
to  lick  from  the  neck  of  his  horse  the  drops  of  the 
beverage  which  he  might  let  fall  in  drinking.  More 
shameful  subjection  it  would  be  diflScult  to  describe. 

Several  princes  who  proved  insubordinate  were 
summoned  to  the  camp  of  the  Horde  and  there  tried 
and  executed.  Eivals  sought  the  khan,  to  buy  power 
by  presents.  During  their  journeys,  which  occupied 
a  year  or  more,  the  Tartar  bashaks  ruled  their  domin- 
ions. Tartar  armies  aided  the  princes  in  their  civil 
wars,  and  helped  these  ambitious  lords  to  keep  their 
country  in  a  state  of  subjection. 

Fortunately  for  Eussia,  the  great  empire  of  the 
Mongols  gradually  fell  to  pieces  of  its  own  weight. 
The  Kaptchak,  or  Golden  Horde,  broke  loose  from 
the  Great  Horde,  and  Eussia  had  a  smaller  power  to 
deal  with.  The  Golden  Horde  itself  broke  into  two 
parts.  And  among  the  many  princes  of  Eussia  a 
grand  prince  was  still  acknowledged,  with  right  by 
title  to  dominion  over  the  entire  realm. 


THE   YOKE   OP   THE   TARTARS.  53^ 

One  of  these  grand  princes,  Alexander  by  name, 
son  of  the  grand  prince  of  Yladimir,  proved  a  great 
warrior  and  statesman  and  gained  the  power  as  well 
as  the  title.  Prince  of  Novgorod  by  inheritance,  he 
defeated  all  his  enemies,  drove  the  Germans  from 
Eussia,  and  recovered  the  Neva  from  the  Swedes, 
which  feat  of  arms  gained  him  the  title  of  Alexander 
Nevsky.  The  Tartars  were  too  powerful  to  be  at- 
tacked, so  he  managed  to  gain  their  good  will.  The 
khan  became  his  friend,  and  when  trouble  arose 
with  Kief  and  Yladimir  their  princes  were  dethroned 
and  these  principalities  given  to  the  shrewd  grand 
prince. 

Russia  seemed  to  be  rehabilitated.  Alexander  was 
lord  of  its  three  capitals,  Novgorod,  Kief,  and  Yladi- 
mir, and  grand  prince  of  the  realm.  But  the  Russians 
were  not  content  to  submit  either  to  his  authority  or 
to  the  yoke  of  the  Tartars.  His  whole  life  was  spent 
in  battle  with  them,  or  in  journeys  to  the  tent  of  the 
khan  to  beg  forgiveness  for  their  insults. 

The  climax  came  when  the  Tartar  collectors  of 
tribute  were  massacred  in  some  cities  and  ignomin- 
iously  driven  out  of  others.  When  these  acts  be- 
came known  at  the  Horde  the  angry  khan  sent 
orders  for  the  grand  prince  and  all  other  Russian 
princes  to  appear  before  him  and  to  bring  all  their 
troops.  He  said  that  he  was  about  to  make  a  cam- 
paign, and  needed  the  aid  of  the  Russians. 

This  story  Alexander  did  not  believe.  He  plainly 
perceived  that  the  wily  Tartar  wished  to  deprive 
Russia  of  all  its  armed  men,  that  he  might  the  more 
easily  reduce  it  again  to  subjection.     Rather  than  see 


54  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

his  country  ruined,  the  patriotic  prince  determined  to 
disobey,  and  to  offer  himself  as  a  victim  by  seeking 
alone  the  camp  of  Usbek,  the  great  khan,  a  mission 
of  infinite  danger. 

He  hoped  that  his  submission  might  save  Eussia 
from  ruin,  though  he  knew  that  death  lay  on  his 
path.  He  found  Usbek  bitterly  bent  on  war,  and 
for  a  whole  year  was  kept  in  the  camp  of  the  Horde, 
seeking  to  appease  the  wrath  of  the  barbarian.  In 
the  end  he  succeeded,  the  khan  promising  to  forgive 
the  Russians  and  desist  from  the  intended  war,  and 
in  the  year  1262  Alexander  started  for  home  again. 

He  had  seemingly  escaped,  but  not  in  reality.  He 
had  not  journeyed  far  before  he  suddenly  died.  To 
all  appearance,  poison  had  been  mingled  with  his 
food  before  he  left  the  camp  of  the  khan.  Alex- 
ander had  become  tfyo  great  and  powerful  at  home 
for  the  designs  of  the  conquerors.  He  died  the  vic- 
tim of  his  love  of  country.  His  people  have  recog- 
nized his  virtue  by  making  him  a  saint.  He  had 
not  labored  in  vain.  In  his  hands  the  grand  prince- 
ship  had  been  restored,  Vladimir  had  become  su- 
preme, and  a  centre  had  been  established  around 
which  the  Russians  might  rally.  But  for  a  century 
and  more  still  they  were  to  remain  subject  to  the 
Tartar  yoke. 


THE  VICTORY  OF  THE  DON. 

The  history  of  Eussia  during  the  century  after 
the  Mongol  conquest  is  one  of  shame  and  anarchy. 
The  shame  was  that  of  slavish  submission  to  the 
Tartar  khan.  Each  prince,  in  succession,  fell  on 
his  knees  before  this  high  dignitary  of  the  bar- 
barians and  begged  or  bought  his  throne.  The 
anarchy  was  that  of  the  Eussian  princes,  on  which 
the  khan  looked  with  winking  eyes,  thinking  that 
the  more  they  weakened  themselves  the  more  they 
would  strengthen  him.  The  rulers  of  Moscow, 
Tver,  Vladimir,  and  Novgorod  fought  almost  inces- 
santly for  supremacy,  crushing  their  people  beneath 
the  feet  of  their  ambition,  now  one,  now  another, 
gaining  the  upper  hand. 

In  the  end  the  princes  of  Moscow  became  supreme. 
They  grew  rich,  and  were  able  to  keep  up  a  regular 
army,  that  chief  tool  of  despotism.  The  crown 
lands  alone  gave  them  dominion  over  three  hundred 
thousand  subjects.  The  time  was  coming  in  which 
they  would  be  the  absolute  rulers  of  all  Eussia. 
But  before  this  could  be  accomplished  the  power  of 
the  khans  must  be  broken,  and  the  first  step  towards 
this  was  taken  by  the  great  Dmitri  Donskoi,  who 
became  grand  prince  of  Moscow  in  1362. 

Dmitri  came  to  the  throne  at  a  fortunate  epoch. 
The  Golden  Horde  was  breaking  to  pieces.     There 

56 


56  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

were  several  khans,  at  war  with  one  another,  and 
discord  ruled  among  the  overlords  of  Eussia.  Still 
greater  discord  reigned  in  Russia  itself.  For  eighteen 
years  Dmitri  was  kept  busy  in  wars  with  the  princes 
of  Tver,  Kief,  and  Lithuania.  Terrible  was  the  war 
with  Tver.  Four  times  he  overcame  Michael,  its 
prince.  Four  times  did  Michael,  aided  by  the  prince 
of  Lithuania,  gain  the  victory.  During  this  ob- 
stinate conflict  Moscow  was  twice  besieged.  Only 
its  stone  walls,  lately  built,  saved  it  from  capture 
and  ruin.  At  length  Olguerd,  the  fiery  prince  of 
Lithuania,  died,  and  Tver  yielded.  Moscow  became 
paramount  among  the  Russian  principalities. 

And  now  Dmitri,  with  all  Russia  as  his  realm, 
dared  to  defy  the  terrible  Tartars.  For  more  than 
a  century  no  Russian  prince  had  ventured  to  appear 
before  the  khan  of  the  Golden  Horde  except  on  his 
knees.  Dmitri  had  thus  humbled  himself  only  three 
years  before.  Kow,  inflated  with  his  new  power,  he 
refused  to  pay  tribute  to  the  khan,  and  went  so  far 
as  to  put  to  death  the  Tartar  envoy,  who  insolently 
demanded  the  accustomed  payment. 

Dmitri  had  burned  his  bridges  behind  him.  He 
had  flung  down  the  gage  of  war  to  the  Tartars, 
and  would  soon  feel  their  hand  in  all  its  dreaded 
strength.  The  khan,  on  hearing  of  the  murder  of 
his  ambassador,  burst  into  a  terrible  rage.  The 
civil  wars  which  divided  the  Golden  Horde  had  for 
the  time  ceased,  and  Mamai,  the  khan,  gathered  all 
the  power  of  the  Horde  and  marched  on  defiant 
Moscow,  vowing  to  sweep  that  rebel  city  from  the 
face  of  the  earth. 


THE   VICTORY   OP   THE   DON.  57 

The  Eussians  did  not  wait  his  coming.  All  dis- 
sensions ceased  in  the  face  of  the  impending  peril, 
all  the  princes  sent  aid,  and  Dmitri  marched  to  the 
Don  at  the  head  of  an  army  of  two  hundred  thou- 
sand men.  Here  he  found  the  redoubtable  Mamai 
with  three  times  that  number  of  the  fierce  Tartar 
horsemen  in  his  train. 

*'  Yonder  lies  the  foe,"  said  Dmitri  to  his  princely- 
associates.  "Here  runs  the  Don.  Shall  we  await 
him  here,  or  cross  and  meet  him  with  the  river  at 
our  backs  ?" 

"  Let  us  cross,"  was  the  unanimous  verdict.  "  Let 
us  be  first  in  the  assault." 

At  once  the  order  was  given,  and  the  battalions 
marched  on  board  the  boats  and  were  ferried  across 
the  stream,  at  a  short  distance  from  the  opposite 
bank  of  which  the  enemy  lay.  'No  sooner  had  they 
landed  than  Dmitri  ordered  all  the  boats  to  be  cast 
adrift.  It  was  to  be  victory  or  death ;  no  hope  of 
escape  by  flight  was  left;  but  well  he  knew  that 
the  men  would  fight  with  double  valor  under  such 
desperate  straits. 

The  battle  began.  On  the  serried  Eussian  ranks 
the  Tartars  poured  in  that  impetuous  assault  which 
had  so  often  carried  their  hosts  to  victory.  The 
Eussians  defended  themselves  with  fiery  valor,  assault 
after  assault  was  repulsed,  and  so  fiercely  was  the 
field  contested  that  multitudes  of  the  fallen  were 
trampled  to  death  beneath  the  horses'  feet.  At 
length,  however,  numbers  began  to  tell.  The  Eus- 
sians grew  weary  from  the  closeness  of  the  conflict. 
The  vast  host  of  the  Tartars  enabled  them  to  replace 


58  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

with  fresh  troops  all  that  were  worn  in  the  fight. 
Yictory  seemed  about  to  perch  upon  their  banners. 

Dismay  crept  into  the  Kussian  ranks.  They  would 
have  broken  in  flight,  but  no  avenue  of  escape  was 
left.  The  river  ran  behind  them,  unruffled  by  a  boat. 
Flight  meant  death  by  drowning ;  fight  meant  death 
by  the  sword.  Of  the  two  the  latter  seemed  best, 
for  the  Eussians  firmly  believed  that  death  at  the 
hands  of  the  infidels  meant  an  immediate  transport 
to  the  heavenly  mansions  of  bliss. 

At  this  critical  moment,  when  the  host  of  Dmitri 
was  wavering  between  panic  and  courage,  the  men 
ready  to  drop  their  swords  through  sheer  fatigue,  an 
unlooked-for  diversion  inspired  their  shrinking  souls. 
The  grand  prince  had  stationed  a  detachment  of  his 
army  as  a  reserve,  and  these,  as  yet,  had  taken  no 
part  in  the  battle.  Now,  fresh  and  furious,  they  were 
brought  up,  and  fell  vigorously  upon  the  rear  of  the 
Tartars,  who,  filled  with  sudden  terror,  thought  that 
a  new  army  had  come  to  the  aid  of  the  old.  A 
moment  later  they  broke  and  fled,  pursued  by  their 
triumphant  foes,  and  falling  fast  as  they  hurried  in 
panic  fear  from  the  encrimsoned  field. 

Something  like  amazement  filled  the  souls  of  the 
Russians  as  they  saw  their  dreaded  enemies  in  flight. 
Such  a  consummation  they  had  scarcely  dared  hope 
for,  accustomed  as  they  had  been  for  a  century  to 
crouch  before  this  dreadful  foe.  They  had  bought 
their  victory  dearly.  Their  dead  strewed  the  ground 
by  thousands.  Yet  to  be  victorious  over  the  Tartar 
host  seemed  to  them  an  ample  recompense  for  an 
even  greater  loss  than  that  sustained.     Eight  days 


THE  VICTORY  OP  THE  DON.  59 

were  occupied  by  the  survivors  in  burying  the  slain. 
As  for  the  Tartar  dead,  they  were  left  to  fester  on 
the  field.  Such  was  the  great  victory  of  the  Don, 
from  which  Dmitri  gained  his  honorable  surname 
of  Donskoi.  He  died  nine  years  afterwards  (1389), 
having  won  the  high  honor  of  being  the  first  to  van- 
quish the  terrible  horsemen  of  the  Steppes,  firmly 
founded  the  authority  of  the  grand  princes,  and 
made  Moscow  the  paramount  power  in  Eussia. 


IVAN,  THE  FIRST  OF  THE  CZARS. 

The  victory  of  the  Don  did  not  free  Eussia  from 
the  Tartar  yoke.  Two  years  afterwards  the  princi- 
pality of  Moscow  was  overrun  and  ravaged  by  a 
lieutenant  of  the  mighty  Tamerlane,  the  all-con- 
quering successor  of  Genghis  Khan.  Several  times 
Moscow  was  taken  and  burned.  Full  seventy  years 
later,  at  the  court  of  the  Golden  Horde,  two  Eussian 
princes  might  have  been  seen  disputing  before  the 
great  khan  the  possession  of  the  grand  principality 
and  tremblingly  awaiting  his  decision.  !N"everthe- 
less,  the  battle  of  the  Don  had  sounded  the  knell  of 
the  Tartar  power.  Anarchy  continued  to  prevail  in 
the  Golden  Horde.  The  power  of  the  grand  princes 
of  Moscow  steadily  grew.  The  khans  themselves 
played  into  the  hands  of  their  foes.  Eussia  was 
slowly  but  surely  casting  off  her  fetters,  and  deliver- 
ance was  at  hand. 

Ivan  III.,  great-grandson  of  Dmitri  Donskoi,  as- 
cended the  throne  in  1462,  nearly  two  centuries  and 
a  half  after  the  Tartar  invasion.  During  all  that 
period  Eussia  had  been  the  vassal  of  the  khans. 
Only  now  was  its  freedom  to  come.  It  was  by  craft, 
more  than  by  war,  that  Ivan  won.  In  the  field  he 
was  a  dastard,  but  in  subtlety  and  perfidy  he  sur- 
passed all  other  men  of  his  time,  and  his  insidious  but 
60 


IVAN,  THE   FIRST   OF   THE   CZARS.  61 

persistent  policy  ended  by  making  him  the  autocrat 
of  all  the  Eussias. 

He  found  powerful  enemies  outside  his  dominions, 
— the  Tartars,  the  Lithuanians,  and  the  Poles.  He 
succeeded  in  defeating  them  all.  He  had  powerful 
rivals  within  the  domain  of  Eussia.  These  also  he 
overcame.  He  made  Moscow  all-powerful,  imitated 
the  tyranny  of  the  Tartars,  and  founded  the  auto- 
cratic rule  of  the  czars  which  has  ever  since  pre- 
vailed. 

The  story  of  the  fall  of  the  Golden  Horde  may  be 
briefly  told.  It  was  the  work  of  the  Eussian  army, 
but  not  of  the  Eussian  prince.  In  1469,  after  col- 
lecting a  large  army,  Ivan  baited  and  began  nego- 
tiating. But  the  army  was  not  to  be  restrained. 
Disregarding  the  orders  of  their  general,  they  chose 
another  leader,  and  assailed  and  captured  Kasan,  the 
chief  Tartar  city.  As  for  the  army  of  the  Golden 
Horde,  it  was  twice  defeated  by  the  Eussian  force. 
In  1480  a  third  invasion  of  the  Tartars  took  place, 
which  resulted  in  the  annihilation  of  their  force. 

The  tale,  as  handed  down  to  us,  is  a  curious  one. 
The  army,  full  of  martial  ardor,  had  advanced  as  far 
as  the  Oka  to  meet  the  Tartars ;  but  on  the  approach 
of  the  enemy  Ivan,  stricken  with  terror,  deserted  his 
troops  and  took  refuge  in  far-off  Moscow.  He  even 
recalled  his  son,  but  the  brave  boy  refused  to  obey, 
saying  that  "  he  would  rather  die  at  his  post  than 
follow  the  example  of  his  father." 

The  murmurs  of  the  people,  the  supplication  of 
the  priests,  the  indignation  of  the  boyars,  forced  him 
to  return  to  the  army,  but  he  returned  only  to  cover 


62  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

it  with  shame  and  himself  with  disgrace.  For  when 
the  chill  of  the  coming  winter  suddenly  froze  the 
river  between  the  two  forces,  offering  the  foe  a  firm 
pathway  to  battle,  Ivan,  in  consternation,  ordered  a 
retreat,  which  his  haste  converted  into  a  disorderly 
flight.  Yet  the  army  was  two  hundred  thousand 
strong  and  had  not  struck  a  blow. 

Fortune  and  his  allies  saved  the  dastard  monarch. 
For  at  this  perilous  interval  the  khan  of  the  Crimea, 
an  ally  of  Russia,  attacked  the  capital  of  the  Golden 
Horde  and  forced  a  hasty  recall  of  its  army ;  and 
during  its  disorderly  homeward  march  a  host  of 
Cossacks  fell  upon  it  with  such  fury  that  it  was 
totally  destroyed.  Russia,  threatened  with  a  new 
subjection  to  the  Tartars  by  the  cowardice  of  its 
monarch,  was  finally  freed  from  these  dreaded  foes 
through  the  aid  of  her  allies. 

But  the  fruits  of  this  harvest,  sown  by  others, 
were  reaped  by  the  czar.  His  people,  who  had 
been  disgusted  with  his  cowardice,  now  gave  him 
credit  for  the  deepest  craft  and  wisdom.  All  this 
had  been  prepared  by  him,  they  said.  His  flight 
was  a  ruse,  his  pusillanimity  was  prudence ;  he  had 
made  the  Tartars  their  own  destroyers,  without 
risking  the  fate  of  ]-lussia  in  a  battle ;  and  what  had 
just  been  contemned  as  dastard  baseness  was  now 
praised  as  undiluted  wisdom. 

Ivan  would  never  have  gained  the  title  of  Great 
from  his  deeds  in  war.  He  won  it,  and  with  some 
justice,  from  his  deeds  in  peace.  He  was  great  in 
diplomacy,  great  in  duplicity,  great  in  that  persistent 
pursuit  of  a  single  object  through  which  men  rise  to 


63 

power  and  fame.  This  object,  in  his  case,  was  auto- 
cracy. It  was  his  purpose  to  crush  out  the  last 
shreds  of  freedom  from  Eussia,  establish  an  empire 
on  the  pernicious  pattern  of  a  Tartar  khanate,  which 
had  so  long  been  held  up  as  an  example  before  Eus- 
sian  eyes,  and  make  the  Prince  of  Moscow  as  absolute 
as  the  Emperor  of  China.  He  succeeded.  During 
his  reign  freedom  fled  from  Eussia.  It  has  never 
since  returned. 

The  story  of  how  this  great  aim  was  accomplished 
is  too  long  to  be  told  here,  and  the  most  important 
part  of  it  must  be  left  for  our  next  tale.  It  will 
suffice,  at  this  point,  to  say  that  by  astute  policy  and 
good  fortune  Ivan  added  to  his  dominions  nineteen 
thousand  square  miles  of  territory  and  four  millions 
of  subjects,  made  himself  supreme  autocrat  and  his 
voice  the  sole  arbiter  of  fate,  reduced  the  boyars  and 
subordinate  princes  to  dependence  on  his  throne, 
established  a  new  and  improved  system  of  adminis- 
tration in  all  the  details  of  government,  and  by  his 
marriage  with  Sophia,  the  last  princess  of  the  Greek 
imperial  family, — driven  by  the  Turks  from  Con- 
stantinople to  Eome, — gained  for  his  standard  the 
two-headed  eagle,  the  symbol  of  autocracy,  and  for 
himself  the  supreme  title  of  czar. 


THE  FALL    OF  NOVGOROD    THE 
GREAT. 

The  Czar  of  Eussia  is  the  one  political  deity  in 
Europe,  the  sole  absolute  autocrat.  More  than  a 
hundred  millions  of  people  have  delivered  themselves 
over,  fettered  hand  and  foot,  almost  body  and  soul, 
to  the  ownership  of  one  man,  without  a  voice  in 
their  own  government,  without  daring  to  speak, 
hardly  daring  to  think,  otherwise  than  he  approves. 
Thousands  of  them,  millions  of  them,  perhaps,  are 
saying  to-day,  in  the  words  of  Hamlet,  "  It  is  not 
and  it  cannot  come  to  good;  but  break  my  heart, 
for  I  must  hold  my  tongue." 

Who  is  this  man,  this  god  of  a  nation,  that  he 
should  loom  so  high?  Is  he  a  marvel  of  wisdom, 
virtue,  and  nobility,  made  by  nature  to  wear  the 
purple,  fashioned  of  porcelain  clay,  greater  and 
better  than  all  the  host  to  whom  his  word  is  the 
voice  of  fate  ?  By  no  means  ;  thousands  of  his  sub- 
jects tower  far  above  him  in  virtue  and  ability,  but, 
puppet-like,  the  noblest  and  best  of  them  must  dance 
as  he  pulls  the  strings,  and  hardly  a  man  in  Eussia 
dares  to  say  that  his  soul  is  his  own  if  the  czar  says 
otherwise. 

Such  a  state  of  affairs  is  an  anachronism  in  the 
nineteenth  century,  a  hideous  relic  of  the  barbarism 
and  anarchy  of  medisBval  times.  In  America,  where 
64 


THE  FALL  OF  NOVGOROD  THE  GREAT.      65 

every  man  is  a  czar,  so  far  as  the  disposal  of  himself 
is  concerned,  the  enslavement  of  the  Eussians  seems 
a  frightful  disregard  of  the  rights  of  man,  the  nation 
a  giant  Gulliver  bound  down  to  the  earth  by  chains 
of  creed  and  custom,  of  bureaucracy  and  perverted 
public  opinion.  Like  Gulliver,  it  was  bound  when 
asleep,  and  it  must  continue  fettered  while  its  intel- 
lect remains  torpid.  Some  day  it  will  awake,  stretch 
its  mighty  limbs,  burst  its  feeble  bonds,  and  hurl  in 
disarray  to  the  earth  the  whole  host  of  liliputian 
officials  and  dignitaries  who  are  strutting  in  the 
pride  of  ownership  on  its  great  body,  the  czar  tum- 
bling first  from  his  great  estate. 

This  does  not  seem  a  proper  beginning  to  a  story 
from  Eussian  history,  but,  to  quote  from  Shakespeare 
again,  "  Thereby  hangs  a  tale."  The  history  of  Eus- 
sia  has,  in  fact,  been  a  strange  one ;  it  began  as  a 
republic,  it  has  ended  as  a  despotism ;  and  we  cannot 
go  on  with  our  work  without  attempting  to  show  how 
this  came  about. 

It  was  the  Mongol  invasion  that  enslaved  Eussia. 
Helped  by  the  khans,  Moscow  gradually  rose  to  su- 
premacy over  all  the  other  principalities,  trod  them 
one  by  one  under  her  feet,  gained  power  by  the  aid 
of  Tartar  swords  and  spears  or  through  sheer  dread 
of  the  Tartar  name,  and  when  the  Golden  Horde 
was  at  length  overthrown  the  Grand  Prince  took  the 
place  of  the  Great  Khan  and  ruled  with  the  same 
absolute  sway.  It  was  the  absolutism  of  Asia  im- 
ported into  Europe.  Step  by  step  the  princes  of 
Moscow  had  copied  the  system  of  the  khan.  This 
work  was  finished  by  Ivan  the  Great,  at  once  the 

5 


66  HISTORICAL  TALES. 

deliverer  and  the  enslaver  of  Eussia,  who  freed  that 
country  from  the  yoke  of  the  khan,  but  laid  upon 
it  a  heavier  burden  of  servility  and  shame. 

Under  the  khan  there  had  been  insurrection. 
Under  the  czar  there  was  subjection.  The  latter 
state  was  worse  than  the  former.  The  subjection 
continues  still,  but  the  spirit  of  insurrection  is  again 
rising.  The  time  is  coming  in  which  the  rule  of  that 
successor  of  the  Tartar  khan,  miscalled  the  czar, 
will  end,  and  the  people  take  into  their  own  hands 
the  control  of  their  bodies  and  souls. 

There  were  republics  in  Eussia  even  in  Ivan's  day, 
free  cities  which,  though  governed  by  princes,  main- 
tained the  republican  institutions  of  the  past.  Chief 
among  these  was  Novgorod,  that  Novgorod  the  Great 
which  invited  Eurik  into  Eussia  and  under  him  be- 
came the  germ  of  the  vast  Eussian  empire.  A  free 
city  then,  a  free  city  it  continued.  Eurik  and  his  de- 
scendants ruled  by  sufferance.  Yaroslaf  confirmed 
the  free  institutions  which  Eurik  had  respected. 
For  centuries  this  great  commercial  city  continued 
prosperous  and  free,  becoming  in  time  a  member  of 
the  powerful  Hanseatic  League.  Only  for  the  in- 
vasion of  the  Mongols,  Novgorod  instead  of  Moscow 
might  have  become  the  prototype  of  modern  Eussia, 
and  a  republic  instead  of  a  despotism  have  been  es- 
tablished in  that  mighty  land.  The  sword  of  the 
Tartar  cast  into  the  scales  overweighted  the  balance. 
It  gave  Moscow  the  supremacy,  and  liberty  fell. 

Ivan  the  Great,  in  his  determined  effort  to  subject 
all  Eussia  to  his  autocratic  sway,  saw  before  him 
three  republican  communities,  the  free  cities  of  Nov- 


THE  FALL  OF  NOVGOROD  THE  GREAT.      67 

gorod,  Viatka,  and  Pskof,  and  took  steps  to  sweep 
these  last  remnants  of  ancient  freedom  from  his 
path.  Novgorod,  as  much  the  most  important  of 
these,  especially  demands  our  attention.  With  its 
fall  Eussian  liberty  fell  to  the  earth. 

At  that  time  Novgorod  was  one  of  the  richest  and 
most  powerful  cities  of  the  earth.  It  was  an  ally 
rather  than  a  subject  of  Moscow,  and  all  the  north 
of  Eussia  Tvas  under  its  sway  and  contributed  to  its 
wealth.  But  luxury  had  sapped  its  strength,  and  it 
held  its  liberties  more  by  purchase  than  by  courage. 
Some  of  these  liberties  had  already  been  lost,  seized 
by  the  grand  prince.  The  proud  burghers  chafed 
under  this  invasion  of  their  time-honored  privileges, 
and  in  1471,  inspired  by  the  seeming  timidity  of 
Ivan,  they  determined  to  regain  them. 

It  was  a  woman  that  brought  about  the  revolt. 
Marfa,  a  rich  and  influential  widow  of  the  city,  had 
fallen  in  love  with  a  Lithuanian,  and,  inspired  at 
once  by  the  passions  of  love  and  ambition,  sought 
to  attach  her  country  to  that  of  her  lover.  She 
opened  her  palace  to  the  citizens  and  lavished  on 
them  her  treasures,  seeking  to  inspire  them  with  her 
own  views.  Her  efforts  were  successful :  the  ofiicers 
of  the  grand  prince  were  driven  out,  and  his  domains 
seized ;  and  when  he  threatened  reprisal  they  broke 
into  open  revolt,  and  bound  themselves  by  treaty  to 
Casimir,  prince  of  Lithuania. 

But  events  were  to  prove  that  the  turbulent  citi- 
zens were  no  match  for  the  crafty  Ivan,  who  moved 
slowly  but  ever  steadily  to  his  goal,  and  made  secure 
each  footstep  before  taking  a  step  in  advance.    His 


68  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

insidious  policy  roused  three  separate  hostilities 
against  Novgorod.  The  pride  of  the  nobles  was 
stirred  up  against  its  democracy ;  the  greed  of  the 
princes  made  them  eager  to  seize  its  wealth;  the 
fanatical  people  were  taught  that  this  great  city  was 
an  apostate  to  the  faith. 

These  hostile  forces  proved  too  much  for  the  city 
against  which  they  were  directed.  Novgorod  was 
taken  and  plundered,  though  Ivan  did  not  yet  de- 
prive it  of  its  liberties.  He  had  powerful  princes  to 
deal  with,  and  did  not  dare  to  seize  so  rich  a  prey 
without  letting  them  share  the  spoil.  But  he  ruined 
the  city  by  devastation  and  plunder,  deprived  it  of 
its  tributaries,  the  city  and  territory  of  Perm,  and 
turned  from  Novgorod  to  Moscow  the  rich  com- 
merce of  this  section.  Taking  advantage  of  some 
doubtful  words  in  the  treaty  of  submission,  he  held 
himself  to  be  legislator  and  supreme  judge  of  the 
captive  city.  Such  was  the  first  result  of  the  advice 
of  an  ambitious  woman. 

The  next  step  of  the  autocrat  added  to  his  in- 
fluence. Novgorod  being  threatened  with  an  attack 
from  Livonia,  he  sent  thither  troops  and  envoys  to 
fight  and  negotiate  in  his  name,  thus  taking  from 
the  city,  whose  resources  he  had  already  drained,  its 
old  right  of  making  peace  and  war. 

The  ill  feeling  between  the  rich  and  the  poor  of 
Novgorod  was  fomented  by  his  agents ;  all  complaints 
were  required  to  be  made  to  him;  he  still  further 
impoverished  the  rich  by  the  presents  and  magnifi- 
cent receptions  which  his  presence  among  them  de- 
manded, and  dazzled  the  eyes  of  the  people  by  the 


THE  PALL  OP  NOVGOROD  THE  GREAT.      69 

Oriental  state  and  splendor  which  had  been  adopted 
by  the  court  of  Moscow,  and  which  he  displayed  in 
their  midst. 

The  nobles  who  had  formerly  been  his  enemies 
now  became  his  victims.  He  had  induced  the  people 
to  denounce  them,  and  at  once  seized  them  and  sent 
them  in  chains  to  Moscow.  The  people,  blinded  by 
this  seeming  attention  to  their  complaints,  remained 
heedless  of  the  violation  of  the  ancient  law  of  their 
republic,  "that  none  of  its  citizens  should  ever  be 
tried  or  punished  out  of  the  limits  of  its  own  terri- 
tory." 

Thus  tyranny  made  its  slow  way.  The  citizens, 
once  governed  and  judged  by  their  own  peers,  now 
made  their  appeals  to  the  grand  prince  and  were 
summoned  to  appear  before  his  tribunal.  "  Never 
since  Eurik,"  say  the  annals,  "  had  such  an  event 
happened ;  never  had  the  grand  princes  of  Kief  and 
Yladimir  seen  the  Novgorodians  come  and  submit  to 
them  as  their  judges.  Ivan  alone  could  reduce  Nov- 
gorod to  that  degree  of  humiliation." 

This  work  was  done  with  the  deliberation  of  a 
settled  policy.  Ivan  did  not  molest  Marfa,  who  had 
instigated  the  revolt ;  his  sentences  were  just  and 
equitable  ;  men  were  blinded  by  his  seeming  modera- 
tion ;  and  for  full  seven  years  he  pursued  his  insidious 
way,  gradually  weaning  the  people  from  their  ancient 
customs,  and  taking  advantage  of  every  imprudence 
and  thoughtless  concession  on  their  part  to  ground  on 
it  a  claim  to  increased  authority. 

It  was  the  glove  of  silk  he  had  thus  far  extended 
to  them.     Within  it  lay  concealed  the  hand  of  iron. 


70  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

The  grasp  of  the  iron  hand  was  made  when,  during  an 
audience,  the  envoy  of  the  republic,  through  treason 
or  thoughtlessness,  addressed  him  by  the  name  of 
sovereign  (^Gosudar,  "  liege  loi:d,"  instead  of  Gospodin, 
"  master,"  the  usual  title). 

Ivan,  taking  advantage  of  this,  at  once  claimed 
all  the  absolute  rights  which  custom  had  attached  to 
that  title.  He  demanded  that  the  republic  should 
take  an  oath  to  him  as  its  judge  and  legislator,  re- 
ceive his  boyars  as  their  rulers,  and  yield  to  them 
the  ancient  palace  of  Yaroslaf,  the  sacred  temple  of 
their  liberties,  in  which  for  more  than  five  centuries 
their  assemblies  had  been  held. 

This  demand  roused  the  Novgorodians  to  their 
danger.  They  saw  how  blindly  they  had  yielded  to 
tyranny.  A  transport  of  indignation  inspired  them. 
For  the  last  time  the  great  bell  of  liberty  sent  forth 
its  peal  of  alarm.  Gathering  tumultuously  at  the 
palace  from  which  they  were  threatened  with  expul- 
sion, they  vigorously  resolved, — 

"  Ivan  is  in  fact  our  lord,  but  he  shall  never  be 
our  sovereign ;  the  tribunal  of  his  deputies  may  sit 
at  Goroditch,  but  never  at  Novgorod :  Novgorod  is, 
and  always  shall  be,  its  own  judge." 

In  their  rage  they  murdered  several  of  the  nobles 
whom  they  suspected  of  being  friends  of  the  tyrant. 
The  envoy  who  had  uttered  the  imprudent  word  was 
torn  to  pieces  by  their  furious  hands.  They  ended 
by  again  invoking  the  aid  of  Lithuania. 

On  hearing  of  this  outbreak  the  despot  feigned 
surprise.  Groans  broke  from  his  lips,  as  if  he  felt 
that  he  had  been  basely  used.    His  complaints  were 


THE  FALL  OF  NOVaOROD  THE  GREAT.      71 

loud,  and  the  calling  in  of  a  foreign  power  was 
brought  against  Novgorod  as  a  frightful  aggravation 
of  its  crime.  Under  cover  of  these  groans  and  com- 
plaints an  army  was  gathered  to  which  all  the  prov- 
inces of  the  empire  were  forced  to  send  contingents. 

These  warlike  preparations  alarmed  the  citizens. 
All  Kussia  seemed  arrayed  against  them,  and  they 
tremblingly  asked  for  conditions  of  peace  in  accord- 
ance with  their  ancient  honor.  "I  will  reign  at 
Novgorod  as  I  do  at  Moscow,"  replied  the  imperious 
despot.  "  I  must  have  domains  on  your  territory. 
You  must  give  up  your  Posadnick,  and  the  bell  which 
summons  you  to  the  national  council."  Yet  this 
threat  of  enslavement  was  craftily  coupled  with  a 
promise  to  respect  their  liberty. 

This  declaration,  the  most  terrible  that  free  citi- 
zens could  have  heard,  threw  them  into  a  state  of 
violent  agitation.  Now  in  defiant  fury  they  seized 
their  arms,  now  in  helpless  despondency  let  them 
fall.  For  a  whole  month  their  crafty  adversary  per- 
mitted them  to  exhibit  their  rage,  not  caring  to  use 
the  great  army  with  which  he  had  encircled  the  city 
when  assured  that  the  terror  of  his  presence  would 
soon  bring  him  victory. 

They  yielded :  they  could  do  nothing  but  yield. 
No  blood  was  shed.  Ivan  had  gained  his  end,  and 
was  not  given  to  useless  cruelty.  Marfa  and  seven 
of  the  principal  citizens  were  sent  prisoners  to  Mos- 
cow and  their  property  was  confiscated.  No  others 
were  molested.  But  on  the  15th  of  January,  1478, 
the  national  assemblies  ceased,  and  the  citizens  took 
the  oath  of  subjection.     The  great  republic,  which 


72  HISTORICAL  TALES. 

had  existed  from  prehistoric  times,  was  at  an  end, 
and  despotism  ruled  supreme. 

On  the  18th  the  boyars  of  Novgorod  entered  the 
service  of  Ivan,  and  the  possessions  of  the  clergy- 
were  added  to  the  domain  of  the  prince,  giving  him 
as  vassals  three  hundred  thousand  boyar- followers, 
on  whom  he  depended  to  hold  Novgorod  in  a  state 
of  submission.  A  great  part  of  the  territories  be- 
longing to  the  city  became  the  victor's  prize,  and  it  is 
said  that,  as  a  share  of  his  spoil,  he  sent  to  Moscow 
three  hundred  cart-loads  of  gold,  silver,  and  precious 
stones,  besides  vast  quantities  of  furs,  cloths,  and 
other  goods  of  value. 

Pskov,  another  of  the  Eussian  republics,  had  been 
already  subdued.  In  1479,  Yiatka,  a  colony  of  Nov- 
gorod, was  reduced  to  like  slavery.  The  end  had 
come.  Eepublicanism  in  Eussia  was  extinguished, 
and  gradually  the  republican  population  was  removed 
to  the  soil  of  Moscow  and  replaced  by  Muscovites, 
born  to  the  yoke. 

The  liberties  of  Novgorod  were  gone.  It  had 
been  robbed  of  its  wealth.  Its  commerce  remained, 
which  in  time  would  have  restored  its  prosperity. 
But  this  too  Ivan  destroyed,  not  intentionally,  but 
effectually.  A  burst  of  despotic  anger  completed  the 
work  of  ruin.  The  tyrant,  having  been  insulted  by 
a  Hanseatic  city,  ordered  all  the  merchants  of  the 
Hansa  then  in  Novgorod  to  be  put  in  chains  and 
their  property  confiscated.  As  a  result,  that  confi- 
dence under  which  alone  commerce  can  flourish  van- 
ished, the  North  sought  new  channels  for  its  trade, 
and  Novgorod  the  Great,  once  peopled  by  four  hun- 


THE  FALL  OF  NOVGOROD  THE  GREAT.      73 

dred  thousand  souls,  declined  until  only  an  insignifi- 
cant borough  marks  the  spot  where  once  it  stood. 

It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  this  final  blow  to 
Eussian  republicanism  was  dealt  in  1492,  the  very 
year  in  which  Columbus  discovered  a  new  world  be- 
yond the  seas,  within  which  the  greatest  republic  the 
world  has  ever  known  was  destined  to  arise. 


IVAN  THE  TERRIBLE, 

In  seeking  examples  of  the  excesses  to  which  abso-  - 
lute  power  may  lead,  we  usually  name  the  wicked 
emperors  of  Eome,  among  whom  Nero  stands  most 
notorious  as  a  monster  of  cruelty.  Modern  history 
has  but  one  Nero  in  its  long  lines  of  kings  and  em- 
perors, and  him  we  find  in  Ivan  lY.  of  Eussia,  sur- 
named  the  Terrible. 

This  cruel  czar  succeeded  to  the  throne  when  but 
three  years  of  age.  In  his  early  years  he  lived  in  a 
state  of  terror,  being  insulted  and  despised  by  the 
powerful  nobles  who  controlled  the  power  of  the 
throne.  At  fourteen  years  of  age  his  enemies  were 
driven  out  and  his  kinsmen  came  into  power.  They, 
caring  only  for  blood  and  plunder,  prompted  the  boy 
to  cruelty,  teaching  him  to  rob,  to  torture,  to  mas- 
sacre. They  applauded  him  when  he  amused  him- 
self by  tormenting  animals;  and  when,  riding  furi- 
ously through  the  streets  of  Moscow,  he  dashed  all 
before  him  to  the  ground  and  trampled  women  and 
children  under  his  horses'  feet,  they  praised  him  for 
spirit  and  energy. 

This  was  an  education  fitted  to  make  a  Nero. 
But,  happily  for  Russia,  for  thirteen  years  the  tiger 
was  chained.  Ivan  was  seventeen  years  of  age  when 
a  frightful  conflagration  which  broke  out  in  Moscow 
gave  rise  to  a  revolt  against  the  Glinski,  his  wicked 
74 


IVAN  THE  TERRIBLE.  75 

kinsmen.  They  were  torn  to  pieces  by  the  furious 
multitude,  while  terror  rent  his  youthful  soul.  Amid 
the  horror  of  flames,  cries  of  vengeance,  and  groans 
of  the  dying,  a  monk  appeared  before  the  trembling 
boy,  and  with  menacing  looks  and  upraised  hand 
bade  him  shrink  from  the  wrath  of  Heaven,  which 
his  cruelty  had  aroused. 

Certain  appearances  which  appeared  supernatural 
aided  the  effect  of  these  words,  the  nature  of  Ivan 
seemed  changed  as  by  a  miracle,  dread  of  Heaven's 
vengeance  controlled  his  nature,  and  he  yielded  him- 
self to  the  influence  of  the  wise  and  good.  Pious 
priests  and  prudent  boyars  became  his  advisers,  Anas- 
tasia,  his  young  and  virtuous  bride,  gained  an  in- 
fluence over  him,  and  Eussia  enjoyed  justice  and 
felicity. 

During  the  succeeding  thirteen  years  the  country 
was  ably  and  wisely  governed,  order  was  everywhere 
established,  the  army  was  strengthened,  fortresses 
were  built,  enemies  were  defeated,  the  morals  of  the 
clergy  were  improved,  a  new  code  of  laws  was  formed, 
arts  were  introduced  from  Europe,  a  printing-office 
was  opened,  the  city  of  Archangel  was  built,  and  the 
north  of  the  empire  was  thrown  open  to  commerce. 

All  this  was  the  work  of  Adashef,  Ivan's  wise 
prime  minister,  aided  by  the  influence  of  the  noble- 
hearted  Anastasia.  In  1560,  at  the  end  of  this  period 
of  mild  and  able  administration,  a  sudden  change 
took  place  and  the  tiger  was  set  free.  Anastasia 
died.  A  disease  seized  Ivan  which  seemed  to  affect 
his  brain.  The  remainder  of  his  life  was  marked  by 
paroxysms  of  frightful  barbarity. 


76  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

A  new  terror  seized  him,  that  of  a  vast  conspiracy 
of  the  nobles  against  his  power,  and  for  safety  he 
retired  to  Alexandrovsky,  a  fortress  in  the  midst  of 
a  gloomy  forest.  Here  he  assumed  the  monkish 
dress  with  three  hundred  of  his  minions,  abandoning 
to  the  boyars  the  government  of  the  empire,  but 
keeping  the  military  power  in  his  own  hands. 

On  all  sides  Eussia  now  suffered  from  its  enemies. 
Moscow,  with  several  hundred  thousand  Muscovites, 
was  burned  by  the  Tartars  in  1571.  Disaster  fol- 
lowed disaster,  which  Ivan  was  too  cowardly  and 
weak  to  avert.  Trusting  to  incompetent  generals 
abroad,  he  surrounded  himself  at  home  with  a  guard 
of  six  thousand  chosen  men,  who  were  hired  to  play 
the  part  of  spies  and  assassins.  They  carried  as  em- 
blems of  office  a  dog's  head  and  a  broom,  the  first  to 
indicate  that  they  worried  the  enemies  of  the  czar, 
the  second  that  they  swept  them  from  the  face  of 
the  earth.  They  were  chosen  from  the  lowest  class 
of  the  people,  and  to  them  was  given  the  property 
of  their  victims,  that  they  might  murder  without 
mercy. 

The  excesses  of  Ivan  are  almost  too  horrible  to 
tell.  He  began  by  putting  to  death  several  great 
boyars  of  the  family  of  Eurik,  while  their  wives 
and  children  were  driven  naked  into  the  forests, 
where  they  died  under  the  scourge.  Novgorod 
had  been  ruined  by  his  grandfather.  He  marched 
against  it,  in  a  freak  of  madness,  gathered  a  throng 
of  the  helpless  people  within  a  great  enclosure,  and 
butchered  them  with  his  own  hand.  When  worn 
out  with  these  labors  of  death,  he  turned  on  them 


IVAN   THE   TERRIBLE.  77 

his  guard,  his  slaves,  and  his  dogs,  while  for  a  month 
afterwards  hundreds  of  them  were  flung  daily  into 
the  waters  of  the  river,  through  the  broken  ice. 
What  little  vitality  Ivan  III.  had  left  in  the  repub- 
lican city  was  stamped  out  under  the  feet  of  this 
insensate  brute. 

Tver  and  Pskov,  two  others  of  the  free  cities  of 
the  empire,  suffered  from  his  frightful  presence. 
Then  returning  to  Moscow,  he  filled  the  public 
square  with  red-hot  brasiers,  great  brass  caldrons, 
and  eighty  gibbets,  and  here  five  hundred  of  the 
leading  nobles  were  slain  by  his  orders,  after  being 
subjected  to  terrible  tortures. 

Women  were  treated  as  barbarously  as  men.  Ivan, 
with  a  cruelty  never  before  matched,  ordered  many 
of  them  to  be  hanged  at  their  own  doors,  and  forced 
the  husbands  to  go  in  and  out  under  the  swinging 
and  festering  corpses  of  those  they  had  loved  and 
cherished.  In  other  cases  husbands  or  children  were 
fastened,  dead,  in  their  seats  at  table,  and  the  family 
forced  to  sit  at  meals,  for  days,  opposite  these  terri- 
fying objects. 

Seeking  daily  for  new  conceits  of  cruelty,  he 
forced  one  lord  to  kill  his  father  and  another  his 
brother,  while  it  was  his  delight  to  let  loose  his  dogs 
and  bears  upon  the  people  in  the  public  square,  the 
animals  being  left  to  devour  the  mutilated  bodies 
of  those  they  killed.  Eight  hundred  women  were 
drowned  in  one  frightful  mass,  and  their  relatives 
were  forced  under  torture  to  point  out  where  their 
wealth  lay  hidden. 

It  is  said  that  sixty  thousand  people  were  slain  by 


78  HISTORICAL  TALES. 

Ivan's  orders  in  Novgorod  alone;  how  many  per- 
ished in  the  whole  realm  history  does  not  relate. 
His  only  warlike  campaign  was  against  the  Livo- 
nians.  These  he  failed  to  conquer,  but  held  their 
resistance  as  a  rebellion,  and  ordered  his  prisoners 
to  be  thrown  into  boiling  caldrons,  spitted  on  lances, 
or  roasted  at  fires  which  he  stirred  up  with  his  own 
hands. 

This  monster  of  iniquity  married  in  all  seven 
wives.  He  sought  for  an  eighth  from  the  court  of 
Queen  Elizabeth  of  England,  and  the  daughter  of 
the  Earl  of  Huntington  was  offered  him  as  a  victim, 
— a  willing  one,  it  seems,  influenced  by  the  glamour 
which  power  exerts  over  the  mind ;  but  before  the 
match  was  concluded  the  intended  bride  took  fright, 
and  begged  to  be  spared  the  terrible  honor  of  wed- 
ding the  Eussian  czar. 

Yet  all  the  excesses  of  Ivan  did  not  turn  the 
people  against  him.  He  assumed  the  manner  of  one 
inspired,  claiming  divine  powers,  and  all  the  injuries 
and  degradation  which  he  inflicted  upon  the  people 
were  accepted  not  only  with  resignation  but  with 
adoration.  The  Kussians  of  that  age  of  ignorance 
seem  to  have  looked  upon  God  and  the  czar  as  one, 
and  submitted  to  blows,  wounds,  and  insults  with 
a  blind  servility  to  which  only  abject  superstition 
could  have  led. 

The  end  came  at  last,  in  a  final  freak  of  madness. 
An  humble  supplication,  coming  from  the  most  faith- 
ful of  his  subjects,  was  made  to  him ;  but  in  his  dis- 
torted brain  it  indicated  a  new  conspiracy  of  the 
boyars,  of  which  his  eldest  and  ablest  son  was  to  be 


IVAN  THE  TERRIBLE.  79 

the  leader.  In  a  transport  of  insane  rage  the  fren- 
zied emperor  raised  his  iron-bound  staff  and  struck 
to  the  earth  with  a  mortal  blow  this  hope  of  his 
race. 

This  was  his  last  excess.  Eegret  for  his  hasty- 
act,  though  not  remorse  for  his  murders,  assailed 
him,  and  he  soon  after  died,  after  twenty-six  years 
of  insane  cruelties,  ordering  new  executions  almost 
with  his  latest  breath. 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  SIBERIA, 

In  the  year  1558  a  family  of  wealthy  merchants, 
Stroganof  by  name,  began  to  barter  with  the  Tartar 
tribes  dwelling  east  of  the  Ural  Mountains.  Ivan 
lY.  had  granted  to  this  family  the  desert  districts 
of  the  Kama,  with  great  privileges  in  trade,  and 
the  power  to  levy  troops  and  build  forts — at  their 
own  expense — as  a  security  against  the  robbers 
who  crossed  the  Urals  to  prey  upon  their  settled 
neighbors  to  the  west.  In  return  the  Stroganofs 
were  privileged  to  follow  their  example  in  a  more 
legal  manner,  by  the  brigandage  of  trade  between 
civilization  and  barbarism. 

These  robbers  came  from  the  region  now  known 
as  Siberia,  which  extends  to-day  through  thousands 
of  miles  of  width,  from  the  Urals  to  the  Pacific. 
Before  this  time  we  know  little  about  this  great 
expanse  of  land.  It  seems  to  have  been  peopled 
by  a  succession  of  races,  immigrants  from  the  south, 
each  new  wave  of  people  driving  the  older  tribes 
deeper  into  the  frozen  regions  of  the  north.  Early 
in  the  Christian  era  there  came  hither  a  people  des- 
titute of  iron,  but  expert  in  the  working  of  bronze, 
silver,  and  gold.  They  had  wide  regions  of  irrigated 
fields,  and  a  higher  civilization  than  that  of  those 
who  in  time  took  their  place. 

People  of  Turkish  origin  succeeded  these  tribes 
80 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   SIBERIA.  81 

about  the  eleventh  century.  They  brought  with 
them  weapons  of  iron  and  made  fine  pottery.  In 
the  thirteenth  century,  when  the  great  Mongol  out- 
break took  place  under  Genghis  Khan,  the  Turkish 
kingdom  in  Siberia  was  destroyed  and  Tartars  took 
their  place.  Civilization  went  decidedly  down  hill. 
Such  was  the  state  of  affairs  when  Eussia  began  to 
turn  eyes  of  longing  towards  Siberia. 

The  busy  traders  of  Novgorod  had  made  their 
way  into  Siberia  as  early  as  the  eleventh  century. 
But  this  republic  fell,  and  the  trade  came  to  an  end. 
In  1555,  Khan  Ediger,  who  had  made  himself  a 
kingdom  in  Siberia,  and  whose  people  had  crossed 
swords  with  the  Eussians  beyond  the  Urals,  sent  en- 
voys to  Moscow,  who  consented  to  pay  to  Eussia  a 
yearly  tribute  of  a  thousand  sables,  thus  acknow- 
ledging Eussian  supremacy. 

This  tribute  showed  that  there  were  riches  beyond 
the  mountains.  The  Stroganofs  made  their  way  to 
the  barrier  of  the  hills,  and  it  was  not  long  before 
the  trader  was  followed  by  the  soldier.  The  invasion 
of  Siberia  was  due  to  an  event  which  for  the  time 
threatened  the  total  overthrow  of  the  Eussian 
government.  A  Cossack  brigand,  Stepan  Eozni  by 
name,  had  long  defied  the  forces  of  the  czar,  and 
gradually  gained  in  strength  until  he  had  an  army 
of  three  hundred  thousand  men  under  his  command. 
If  he  had  been  a  soldier  of  ability  he  might  have 
made  himself  lord  of  the  empire.  Being  a  brigand 
in  grain,  he  was  soon  overturned  and  his  forces  dis- 
persed. 

Among  his  followers  was  one  Yermak,  a  chief  of 
6 


82  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

the  Cossacks  of  the  Don,  whom  the  czar  sentenced 
to  death  for  his  love  of  plunder,  but  afterwards 
pardoned.  Yermak  and  his  followers  soon  found 
the  rule  of  Moscow  too  stringent  for  their  ideas  of 
personal  liberty,  and  he  led  a  Cossack  band  to  the 
Stroganof  settlements  in  Perm. 

Tradition  tells  us  that  the  Stroganof  of  that  date 
did  not  relish  the  presence  of  his  unruly  guests, 
with  their  free  ideas  of  property  rights,  and  sug- 
gested to  Yermak  that  Siberia  offered  a  promising 
field  for  a  ready  sword.  He  would  supply  him  with 
food  and  arms  if  he  saw  fit  to  lead  an  expedition 
thither. 

The  suggestion  accorded  well  with  Yermak's 
humor.  He  at  once  began  to  enlist  volunteers  for 
the  enterprise,  adding  to  his  own  Cossack  band  a 
reinforcement  of  Eussians  and  Tartars  and  of  Ger- 
man and  Polish  prisoners  of  war,  until  he  had  six- 
teen hundred  and  thirty-six  men  under  his  command. 
With  these  he  crossed  the  mountains  in  1580,  and 
terrified  the  natives  to  submission  with  his  fire-arms, 
a  form  of  weapon  new  to  them.  Making  their  way 
down  the  Tura  and  Taghil  Elvers,  the  adventurers 
crossed  the  immense  untrodden  forests  of  Tobol,  and 
Kutchum,  the  Tartar  khan,  was  assailed  in  his  capital 
town  of  Ister,  near  where  Tobolsk  now  stands. 

Many  battles  with  the  Tartars  were  fought,  Ister 
was  taken,  the  khan  fled  to  the  steppes,  and  his 
cousin  was  made  prisoner  by  the  adventurers.  Yer- 
mak now,  having  added  by  his  valor  a  great  domain 
to  the  Eussian  empire,  purchased  the  favor  of  Ivan 
lY.  by  the  present  of  this  new  kingdom.    He  made 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   SIBERIA.  »d 

his  way  to  the  Irtish  and  Obi,  opened  trade  with 
the  rich  khanate  of  Bokhara,  south  of  the  desert, 
and  in  various  ways  sought  to  consolidate  the  con- 
quest he  had  made.  But  misfortune  came  to  the 
conqueror.  One  day,  being  surprised  by  the  Tartars 
when  unprepared,  he  leaped  into  the  Irtish  in  full 
armor  and  tried  to  swim  its  rapid  current.  The 
armor  he  wore  had  been  sent  him  by  the  czar,  and 
had  served  him  well  in  war.  It  proved  too  heavy 
for  his  powers  of  swimming,  bore  him  beneath  the 
hungry  waters,  and  brought  the  career  of  the  vic- 
torious brigand  to  an  end.  After  his  death  his  dis- 
mayed followers  fled  from  Siberia,  yielding  it  to 
Tartar  hands  again. 

Yermak — in  his  way  a  rival  of  Cortez  and  Pizarro 
— gained  by  his  conquest  the  highest  fame  among 
the  Eussian  people.  They  exalted  him  to  the  level 
of  a  hero,  and  the  church  has  raised  him  to  the  rank 
of  a  saint,  at  whose  tomb  miracles  are  performed. 
As  regards  the  Eussian  saints,  it  may  here  be  re- 
marked that  they  have  been  constructed,  as  a  rule, 
from  very  unsanctified  timber,  as  may  be  seen  from 
the  examples  we  have  heretofore  given.  'Not  only 
the  people  and  the  priests  but  the  poets  have  paid 
their  tribute  to  Yermak's  fame,  epic  poems  having 
been  written  about  his  exploits  and  his  deeds  made 
famihar  in  popular  song. 

Though  the  Cossacks  withdrew  after  Yermak's 
death,  others  soon  succeeded  them.  The  furs  of  Si- 
beria formed  a  rich  prize  whose  allurement  could  not 
be  ignored,  and  new  bands  of  hunters  and  adven- 
turers poured  into  the  country,  sustained  by  regular 


84  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

troops  from  Moscow.  The  advance  was  made  through 
the  northern  districts  to  avoid  the  denser  populations 
of  the  south.  New  detachments  of  troops  were  sent, 
who  built  forts  and  settled  laborers  around  them, 
with  the  duty  of  supplying  the  garrisons  with  food, 
powder,  and  arms.  By  1650  the  Amur  was  reached 
and  followed  to  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

It  was  a  brief  period  in  which  to  conquer  a  country 
of  such  vast  extent.  But  no  organized  resistance 
was  met,  and  the  land  lay  almost  at  the  mercy  of 
the  invaders.  There  was  vigorous  opposition  by  the 
tribes,  but  they  were  soon  subdued.  The  only  effec- 
tive resistance  they  met  was  that  of  the  Chinese,  who 
obliged  the  Cossacks  to  quit  the  Amur,  which  river 
they  claimed.  In  1855  the  advance  here  began  again, 
and  the  whole  course  of  the  river  was  occupied,  with 
much  territory  to  its  south.  Siberia,  thus  conquered 
by  arms,  is  being  made  secure  for  Russia  by  a  trans- 
continental railroad  and  hosts  of  new  settlers,  and 
promises  in  the  future  to  become  a  land  of  the  great- 
est prosperity  and  wealth. 


THE  MACBETH  OF  RUSSIA, 

On  the  15th  of  May,  1591,  five  boys  were  playing 
in  the  court-yard  of  the  Eussian  palace  at  Uglitch. 
With  them  were  the  governess  and  nurse  of  the  prin- 
cipal child — a  boy  ten  years  of  age — and  a  servant- 
woman.  The  child  had  a  knife  in  his  hand,  with 
which  he  was  amusing  himself  by  thrusting  it  into 
the  ground  or  cutting  a  piece  of  wood. 

Unluckily,  the  attention  of  the  women  for  a  brief 
interval  was  drawn  aside.  When  the  nurse  looked 
at  her  charge  again,  to  her  horror  she  found  him 
writhing  on  the  ground,  bathed  in  blood  which  poured 
from  a  large  wound  in  his  throat. 

The  shrieks  of  the  nurse  quickly  drew  others  to 
the  spot,  and  in  a  moment  there  was  a  terrible  up- 
roar, for  the  dying  boy  was  no  less  a  person  than 
Dmitri,  son  of  Ivan  the  Terrible,  brother  of  Feodor, 
the  reigning  czar,  and  heir  to  the  crown  of  Russia. 
The  tocsin  was  sounded,  and  the  populace  thronged 
into  the  court-yard,  thinking  that  the  palace  was  on 
fire.  On  learning  what  had  actually  happened  they 
burst  into  uncontrollable  fury.  The  child  had  not 
killed  himself,  but  had  been  murdered,  they  said,  and 
a  victim  for  their  rage  was  sought. 

In  a  moment  the  governess  was  hurled  bleeding 
and  half  alive  to  the  ground,  and  one  of  her  slaves, 
who  came  to  her  aid,  was  killed.    The  keeper  of  the 

85 


Ob  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

palace  was  accused  of  the  crime,  and,  though  he  fled 
and  barred  himself  within  a  house,  the  infuriated 
mob  broke  through  the  doors  and  killed  him  and  his 
son.  The  body  of  the  child  was  carried  into  a  neigh- 
boring church,  and  here  the  son  of  the  governess, 
against  whom  suspicion  had  been  directed,  was  mur- 
dered before  it  under  his  mother's  eyes.  Fresh  vic- 
tims to  the  wrath  of  the  populace  were  sought,  and 
the  lives  of  the  governess  and  some  others  were  with 
difficulty  saved. 

As  for  the  child  who  had  killed  himself  or  had 
been  killed,  alarming  stories  had  recently  been  set 
afloat.  He  was  said  to  be  the  image  of  his  terrible 
father,  and  to  manifest  an  unnatural  delight  in  blood 
and  the  sight  of  pain,  his  favorite  amusement  being 
to  torture  and  kill  animals.  But  it  is  doubtful  if  any 
of  this  was  true,  for  there  was  then  one  in  power  who 
had  a  reason  for  arousing  popular  prejudice  against 
the  boy. 

That  this  may  be  better  understood  we  must  go 
back.  Ivan  had  killed  his  ablest  son,  as  told  in  a 
previous  story,  and  Feodor,  the  present  czar,  was  a 
feeble,  timid,  sickly  incapable,  who  was  a  mere  tool  in 
the  hands  of  his  ambitious  minister,  Boris  Godunof. 
Boris  craved  the  throne.  Between  him  and  this  lofty 
goal  lay  only  the  feeble  Feodor  and  the  child  Dmitri, 
the  sole  direct  survivors  of  the  dynasty  of  Eurik. 
With  their  death  without  children  that  great  line 
would  be  extinguished. 

The  story  of  Boris  reminds  us  in  several  particu- 
lars of  that  of  the  Scotch  usurper  Macbeth.  His 
future  career  had  been  predicted,  in  the  dead  of 


THE  MACBETH   OP  RUSSIA.  87 

night,  by  astrologers,  who  said,  "  You  shall  yet  wear 
the  crown."  Then  they  became  silent,  as  if  seeing 
horrors  which  they  dared  not  reveal.  Boris  insisted 
on  knowing  more,  and  was  told  that  he  should  reign, 
but  only  for  seven  years.  In  joy  he  exclaimed,  "  No 
matter,  though  it  be  for  only  seven  days,  so  that  I 
reign  I" 

This  ambitious  lord,  who  ruled  already  if  he  did 
not  reign,  had  therefore  a  purpose  in  exciting  preju- 
dice against  and  distrust  of  Dmitri,  the  only  heir  to 
the  crown,  and  in  taking  steps  for  his  removal.  Feo- 
dor  dead,  the  throne  would  fall  like  ripe  fruit  into  his 
own  hands. 

Yet,  whether  guilty  of  the  murder  or  not,  he  took 
active  steps  to  clear  himself  of  the  dark  suspicion 
of  guilt.  An  inquest  was  held,  and  the  verdict  ren- 
dered that  the  boy  had  killed  himself  by  accident. 
At  once  the  regent  proceeded  to  punish  those  who 
had  taken  part  in  the  outbreak  at  Uglitch.  The 
czaritza,  mother  of  Dmitri,  who  had  first  incited  the 
mob,  was  forced  to  take  the  veil.  Her  brothers,  who 
had  declared  the  act  one  of  murder,  were  sent  to  re- 
mote prisons.  Uglitch  was  treated  with  frightful 
severity.  More  than  two  hundred  of  its  inhabitants 
were  put  to  death.  Others  were  maimed  and  thrown 
into  dungeons.  All  the  rest,  except  those  who  had 
fled,  were  exiled  to  Siberia,  and  with  them  was  ban- 
ished the  very  church-bell  which  had  called  them 
out  by  its  tocsin  peal.  A  town  of  thirty  thousand 
inhabitants  was  depopulated  that,  as  people  said, 
every  evidence  of  the  guilt  of  Boris  Godunof  might 
be  destroyed. 


»8  HISTORICAL  TALES. 

This  dreadful  violence  did  Boris  more  harm  than 
good.  Macbeth  stabbed  the  sleeping  grooms  to  hide 
his  guilt,  Boris  destroyed  a  city.  But  he  only 
caused  the  people  to  look  on  him  as  an  assassin  and 
to  doubt  the  motives  of  even  his  noblest  acts. 

A  fierce  fire  broke  out  that  left  much  of  Moscow 
in  ruin.  Boris  rebuilt  whole  streets  and  distributed 
money  freely  among  the  people.  But  even  those 
who  received  this  aid  said  that  he  had  set  fire  to  the 
city  himself  that  he  might  win  applause  with  his 
money.  A  Tartar  army  invaded  the  empire  and  ap- 
peared at  the  gates  of  Moscow.  All  were  in  terror 
but  Boris,  who  hastily  built  redoubts,  recruited  sol- 
diers, and  inspired  all  with  his  own  courage.  The 
Tartars  were  defeated,  and  hardly  a  third  of  them 
reached  home  again.  Yet  all  the  return  the  able 
regent  received  was  the  popular  saying  that  he  had 
called  in  the  Tartars  in  order  to  make  the  people 
forget  the  death  of  Dmitri. 

A  child  was  born  to  Feodor, — a  girl.  The  enemies 
of  the  regent  instantly  declared  that  a  boy  had  been 
born  and  that  he  had  substituted  for  it  a  girl.  It 
died  in  a  few  days,  and  then  it  was  said  that  he 
had  poisoned  it. 

Yet  Boris  went  on,  disdaining  his  enemies,  winning 
power  as  he  went.  He  gained  the  favor  of  the 
clergy  by  giving  Eussia  a  patriarch  of  its  own.  The 
nobles  who  opposed  him  were  banished  or  crushed. 
He  made  the  peasants  slaves  of  the  land,  and  thus 
won  over  the  petty  lords.  Cities  were  built,  for- 
tresses erected,  the  enemies  of  Eussia  defeated  ;  Si- 
beria was  brought  under  firm  control,  and  the  whole 


THE  MACBETH  OP  RUSSIA.  89 

nation  made  to  see  that  it  had  never  been  ruled  by 
abler  hands. 

Boris  in  all  this  was  strongly  paving  his  way  to 
the  throne.  In  1598  the  weak  Feodor  died.  He 
left  no  sons,  and  with  him,  its  fifty-second  sovereign, 
the  dynasty  of  Eurik  the  Varangian  came  to  an 
end.  It  had  existed  for  more  than  seven  centuries. 
Branches  of  the  house  of  Eurik  remained,  yet  no 
member  of  it  dared  aspire  to  that  throne  which  the 
tyrant  Ivan  had  made  odious. 

A  new  ruler  had  to  be  chosen  by  the  voice  of  those 
in  power,  and  Boris  stood  supreme  among  the  aspi- 
rants. The  chronicles  tell  us,  with  striking  brevity, 
"  The  election  begins ;  the  people  look  up  to  the 
nobles,  the  nobles  to  the  grandees,  the  grandees  to 
the  patriarch;  he  speaks,  he  names  Boris;  and  in- 
stantaneously, and  as  one  man,  all  re-echo  that  for- 
midable name." 

And  now  Godunof  played  an  amusing  game.  He 
held  the  reins  of  power  so  firmly  that  he  could  safely 
enact  a  transparent  farce.  He  refused  the  sceptre. 
The  grandees  and  the  people  begged  him  to  accept 
it,  and  he  took  refuge  from  their  solicitations  in  a 
monastery.  This  comedy,  which  even  Caesar  had  not 
long  played,  Boris  kept  up  for  over  a  month.  Yet 
from  his  cell  he  moved  Eussia  at  his  will. 

In  truth,  the  more  he  seemed  to  withdraw  the 
more  eager  became  all  to  make  him  accept.  Priests, 
nobles,  people,  besieged  him  with  their  supplications. 
He  refused,  and  again  refused,  and  for  six  weeks 
kept  all  Eussia  in  suspense.  IsTot  until  he  saw  be- 
fore him  the  highest  grandees  and   clergy  of  the 


90  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

realm  on  their  knees,  tears  in  their  eyes,  in  their 
hands  the  reKcs  of  the  saints  and  the  image  of  the 
Eedeemer,  did  he  yield  what  seemed  a  reluctant  as- 
sent, and  come  forth  from  his  cell  to  accept  that 
throne  which  was  the  chief  object  of  his  desires. 

But  Boris  on  the  throne  still  resembled  Macbeth. 
The  memory  of  his  crimes  pursued  him,  and  he 
sought  to  rule  by  fear  instead  of  love.  He  endeav- 
ored, indeed,  to  win  the  people  by  shows  and  prodi- 
gality, but  the  powerful  he  ruled  with  a  heavy  hand, 
destroying  all  whom  he  had  reason  to  fear,  threat- 
ening the  extinction  of  many  great  families  by  for- 
bidding their  members  to  marry,  seizing  the  wealth 
of  those  he  had  ruined.  The  family  of  the  Eoma- 
nofs,  allied  to  the  line  of  Eurik,  and  soon  to  become 
pre-eminent  in  Eussia,  he  pursued  with  rancor,  its 
chief  being  obliged  to  turn  monk  to  escape  the  axe. 
As  monk  he  in  time  rose  to  the  headship  of  the 
church. 

The  peasantry,  who  had  before  possessed  liberty 
of  movement,  were  by  him  bound  as  serfs  to  the 
soil.  Thousands  of  them  fled,  and  an  insupportable 
inquisition  was  established,  as  hateful  to  the  land- 
owners as  to  the  serfs.  All  this  was  made  worse 
by  famine  and  pestilence,  which  ravaged  Eussia  for 
three  years.  And  in  the  midst  of  this  disaster  the 
ghost  of  the  slain  Dmitri  rose  to  plague  his  mur- 
derer. In  other  words,  one  who  claimed  to  be  the 
slain  prince  appeared,  and  avenged  the  murdered 
child,  his  story  forming  one  of  the  most  interesting 
tales  in  the  history  of  Eussia.  It  is  this  which  we 
have  now  to  tell. 


THE  MACBETH  OF  RUSSIA.  91 

About  midsummer  of  the  year  1603  Adam  Wisz- 
niowiecki,  a  Polish  prince,  angry  at  some  act  of 
negligence  in  a  young  man  whom  he  had  lately  em- 
ployed, gave  him  a  box  on  the  ear  and  called  him  by 
an  insulting  name. 

"  If  you  knew  who  I  am,  prince,"  said  the  indig- 
nant youth,  "you  would  not  strike  me  nor  call  me 
by  such  a  name." 

"  Knew  who  you  are !     Why,  who  are  you  ?" 

"  I  am  Dmitri,  son  of  Ivan  IV.,  and  the  rightful 
czar  of  Eussia." 

Surprised  by  this  extraordinary  statement,  the 
prince  questioned  him,  and  was  told  a  plausible 
story  by  the  young  man.  He  had  escaped  the  mur- 
derer, he  said,  the  boy  who  died  being  the  son  of  a  serf, 
who  resembled  and  had  been  substituted  for  him  by 
his  physician  Simon,  who  knew  what  Boris  designed. 
The  physician  had  fled  with  him  from  Uglitch  and 
put  him  in  the  hands  of  a  loyal  gentleman,  who  for 
safety  had  consigned  him  to  a  monastery. 

The  physician  and  gentleman  were  both  dead,  but 
the  young  man  showed  the  prince  a  Russian  seal 
which  bore  Dmitri's  arms  and  name,  and  a  gold 
cross  adorned  with  jewels  of  great  value,  given  him, 
he  said,  by  his  princely  godfather.  He  was  about 
the  age  which  Dmitri  would  have  reached,  and,  as  a 
Russian  servant  who  had  seen  the  child  said,  had 
warts  and  other  marks  like  those  of  the  true  Dmitri. 
He  possessed  also  a  persuasiveness  of  manner  which 
soon  won  over  the  Polish  prince. 

The  pretender  was  accepted  as  an  illustrious  guest 
by  Prince  Wiszniowiecki,  given  clothes,  horses,  car- 


92  HISTORICAL  TALES. 

riages,  and  suitable  retinue,  and  presented  to  other 
Polish  dignitaries.  Dmitri,  as  he  was  thenceforth 
known,  bore  well  the  honors  now  showered  upon 
him.  He  was  at  ease  among  the  noblest ;  gracious, 
affable,  but  always  dignified ;  and  all  said  that  he 
had  the  deportment  of  a  prince. 

He  spoke  Polish  as  well  as  Eussian,  was  thoroughly 
versed  in  Eussian  history  and  genealogy,  and  was, 
moreover,  an  accomplished  horseman,  versed  in  field 
sports,  and  of  striking  vigor  and  agility,  qualities 
highly  esteemed  by  the  Polish  nobles. 

The  story  of  this  event  quickly  reached  Eussia, 
and  made  its  way  with  surprising  rapidity  through 
all  the  provinces.  The  czarevitch  Dmitri  had  not 
been  murdered,  after  all !  He  was  alive  in  Poland, 
and  was  about  to  call  the  usurper  to  a  terrible  reck- 
oning. The  whole  nation  was  astir  with  the  story, 
and  various  accounts  of  his  having  been  seen  in 
Eussia  and  of  having  played  a  brave  part  in  the 
military  expeditions  of  the  Cossacks  were  set  afloat. 

Boris  soon  heard  of  this  claimant  of  the  throne. 
He  also  received  the  disturbing  news  that  a  monk 
was  among  the  Cossacks  of  the  Don  urging  them  to 
take  up  arms  for  the  czarevitch  who  would  soon  be 
among  them.  His  first  movement  was  the  injudi- 
cious one  of  trying  to  bribe  Wiszniowiecki  to  give 
up  the  impostor  to  him, — the  result  being  to  confirm 
the  belief  that  he  was  in  truth  the  prince  he  claimed 
to  be. 

The  events  that  followed  are  too  numerous  to  be 
given  in  detail,  and  it  must  suflSce  here  to  say  that 
on  October  31,  1604,  Dmitri  entered  Eussian  terri- 


THE   MACBETH   OP   RUSSIA.  93 

tory  at  the  head  of  a  small  Polish  army,  of  less  than 
five  thousand  in  all.  This  was  a  trifling  force  with 
which  to  invade  an  empire,  but  it  grew  rapidly  as 
he  advanced.  Town  after  town  submitted  on  his 
appearance,  bringing  to  him,  bound  and  gagged,  the 
governors  set  over  them  by  Boris.  Dmitri  at  once 
set  them  free  and  treated  them  with  politic  hu- 
manity. 

The  first  town  to  offer  resistance  was  Novgorod- 
Swerski,  which  Peter  Basmanof,  a  general  of  Boris, 
had  garrisoned  with  five  hundred  men.  Basmanof 
was  brave  and  obstinate,  and  for  several  weeks  he 
held  the  force  of  Dmitri  before  this  petty  place, 
while  Boris  was  making  vigorous  efforts  to  collect 
an  army  among  his  discontented  people.  On  the 
last  day  of  1604  the  two  armies  met,  fifteen  thou- 
sand against  fifty  thousand,  and  on  a  broad  open 
plain  that  gave  the  weaker  force  no  advantage  of 
position. 

But  Dmitri  made  up  for  weakness  by  soldierly 
spirit.  At  the  head  of  some  six  hundred  mail-clad 
PoHsh  knights  he  vigorously  charged  the  Eussian 
right  wing,  hurled  it  back  upon  the  centre,  and  soon 
had  the  whole  army  in  disorder.  The  soldiers  flung 
down  their  arms  and  fled,  shouting,  "  The  czarevitch ! 
the  czarevitch !" 

Yet  in  less  than  a  month  this  important  victory 
was  followed  by  a  defeat.  Dmitri  had  been  weakened 
by  his  Poles  being  called  home.  Boris  gathered  new 
forces,  and  on  January  20, 1605,  the  armies  met  again, 
now  seventy  thousand  Muscovites  against  less  than 
quarter  their  number.    Yet  victory  would  have  come 


94  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

to  Dmitri  again  but  for  treachery  in  his  army.  He 
charged  the  enemy  with  the  same  fierceness  as  before, 
bore  down  all  before  him,  routed  the  cavalry,  tore  a 
great  gap  in  the  line  of  the  infantry,  and  would  have 
swept  the  field  had  the  main  body  of  his  army,  con- 
sisting of  eight  thousand  Zaporogues,  come  to  his 
aid. 

At  this  vital  moment  this  great  body  of  cavalry, 
half  the  entire  army,  wheeled  and  quit  the  field, — 
bribed,  it  is  said,  by  Boris.  Such  a  defection,  at  such 
a  moment,  was  fatal.  The  Eussians  rallied ;  the  day 
was  lost ;  nothing  but  flight  remained.  Dmitri  fled, 
hotly  pursued,  and  his  horse  sufi'ering  from  a  wound. 
He  was  saved  by  his  devoted  Cossack  infantry,  four 
thousand  in  number,  who  stood  to  their  guns  and 
faced  the  whole  Muscovite  army.  They  were  killed 
to  a  man,  but  Dmitri  escaped, — favored,  as  we  are 
told,  by  some  of  the  opposing  leaders,  who  did  not 
want  to  make  Boris  too  powerful. 

All  was  not  lost  while  Dmitri  remained  at  liberty. 
Lost  armies  could  be  restored.  He  took  refuge  in 
Putivle,  one  of  the  towns  which  had  pronounced  in 
his  favor,  and  while  his  enemies,  who  proved  half- 
hearted in  the  cause  of  Boris,  wasted  their  time  in 
besieging  a  small  fortress,  new  adherents  flocked 
to  his  banner.  Boris  was  furious  against  his  gen- 
erals, but  his  fury  caused  them  to  hate  instead  of  to 
serve  him.  He  tried  to  get  rid  of  Dmitri  by  poison, 
but  his  agents  were  discovered  and  punished,  and 
the  attempt  helped  his  rival  more  than  a  victory 
would  have  done. 

Dmitri  wrote  to  Boris,  declaring  that  Heaven  had 


THE  MACBETH   OP  RUSSIA.  95 

protected  him  against  this  base  attempt,  and  ironi- 
cally promising  to  extend  mercy  towards  him.  "  De- 
scend from  the  throne  you  have  usurped,  and  seek 
in  the  solitude  of  the  cloister  to  reconcile  yourself 
with  Heaven.  In  that  case  I  will  forget  your  crimes, 
and  even  assure  you  of  my  sovereign  protection." 

All  this  was  bitter  to  the  Eussian  Macbeth.  The 
princely  blood  which  he  had  shed  to  gain  the  throne 
seemed  to  redden  the  air  about  him.  The  ghost  of 
his  slain  victim  haunted  him.  His  power,  indeed, 
seemed  as  great  as  ever.  He  was  an  autocrat  still, 
the  master  of  a  splendid  court,  the  ruler  over  a  vast 
empire.  Yet  he  knew  that  they  who  came  with 
reverence  and  adulation  into  his  presence  hated  him 
in  their  hearts,  and  anguish  must  have  smitten  the 
usurper  to  the  soul. 

His  sudden  death  seemed  to  indicate  this.  On 
the  13th  of  April,  1605,  after  dining  in  state  with 
some  distinguished  foreigners,  illness  suddenly  seized 
him,  blood  burst  from  his  mouth,  nose,  and  ears,  and 
within  two  hours  he  was  dead.  He  had  reigned  six 
years, — nearly  the  full  term  predicted  by  the  sooth- 
sayers. 

The  story  of  Dmitri  is  a  long  one  still,  but  must  be 
dealt  with  here  with  the  greatest  brevity.  Feodor, 
the  son  of  Boris,  was  proclaimed  czar  by  the  boyars 
of  the  court.  The  oath  of  allegiance  was  taken  by 
the  whole  city ;  all  seemed  to  favor  him ;  yet  within 
six  weeks  this  boyish  czar  was  deposed  and  executed 
without  a  sword  being  drawn  in  his  defence. 

Basmanof,  the  leading  general  of  Boris,  had  turned 
to  the  cause  of  Dmitri,  and  the  army  seconded  him. 


96  HISTORICAL  TALES. 

The  people  of  Moscow  declared  in  favor  of  the  pre- 
tender, there  were  a  few  executions  and  banish- 
ments, and  on  the  20th  of  June  the  new  czar  entered 
Moscow  in  great  pomp,  amid  the  acclamations  of  an 
immense  multitude,  who  thronged  the  streets,  the 
windows,  and  the  house-tops;  and  the  young  man 
who,  less  than  two  years  before,  had  had  his  ears 
boxed  by  a  Polish  prince,  was  now  proclaimed  empe- 
ror and  autocrat  of  the  mighty  Eussian  realm. 

It  was  a  short  reign  to  which  the  false  Dmitri — 
for  there  seems  to  be  no  doubt  of  the  death  of  the 
true  Dmitri — had  come.  Within  less  than  a  year 
Moscow  was  in  rebellion,  he  was  slain,  and  the 
throne  was  vacant.  And  this  result  was  largely  due 
to  his  generous  and  kindly  spirit,  largely  to  his 
trusting  nature  and  disregard  of  Eussian  opinion. 

No  man  could  have  been  more  unlike  the  tyrant 
Ivan,  his  reputed  father.  Dmitri  proved  kind  and 
generous  to  all,  even  bestowing  honors  upon  members 
of  the  family  of  Godunof  He  remitted  heavy  taxes, 
punished  unjust  judges,  paid  the  debts  contracted  by 
Ivan,  passed  laws  in  the  interest  of  the  serfs,  and 
held  himself  ready  to  receive  the  petitions  and  re- 
dress the  grievances  of  the  humblest  of  his  subjects. 
His  knowledge  of  state  affairs  was  remarkable  for 
one  of  his  age,  and  Eussia  had  never  had  an  abler, 
nobler-minded,  and  more  kindly-hearted  czar. 

But  Dmitri  in  discretion  was  still  a  boy,  and  made 
trouble  where  an  older  head  would  have  mended  it. 
He  offended  the  boyars  of  his  council  by  laughing  at 
their  ignorance. 

"  Go  and  travel,"  he  said ;  *'  observe  the  ways  of 


THE   MACBETH   OF  RUSSIA.  97 

civilized  nations,  for  you  are  no  better  than  sav- 


The  advice  was  good,  but  not  wise.  He  offended 
the  Eussian  demand  for  decorum  in  a  czar  by  riding 
through  the  streets  on  a  furious  stallion,  like  a  Cos- 
sack of  the  Don.  In  religion  he  was  lax,  favoring 
secretly  the  Latin  Church.  He  chose  Poles  instead 
of  Eussians  for  his  secretaries.  And  he  excited 
general  disgust  by  the  announcement  that  he  was 
about  to  marry  a  heretic  woman,  an  unbaptized  Pole  ! 
The  people  were  still  more  deeply  incensed  by  the 
conduct  of  Marina,  this  foreign  bride,  both  before 
and  after  the  wedding,  she  giving  continual  offence 
by  her  insistence  on  Polish  customs. 

While  thus  offending  the  prejudices  and  super- 
stitions of  his  people,  Dmitri  prepared  for  his  down- 
fall by  his  trustfulness  and  clemency.  He  dismissed 
the  spies  with  whom  former  czars  had  surrounded 
themselves,  and  laid  himself  freely  open  to  treachery. 
The  result  of  his  acts  and  his  openness  was  a  con- 
spiracy, which  was  fortunately  discovered.  Shuiski, 
its  leader,  was  condemned  to  be  executed.  Yet  as 
he  knelt  with  the  axe  lifted  above  him,  he  was  re- 
spited and  banished  to  Siberia;  and  on  his  way 
thither  a  courier  overtook  him,  bearing  a  pardon  for 
him  and  his  banished  brothers.  His  rank  was  re- 
stored, and  he  was  again  made  a  councillor  of  the 
empire. 

Clemency  like  this  was  praiseworthy,  but  it  proved 
fatal.  Like  CaBsar  before  him,  Dmitri  was  over-clem- 
ent and  over-confident,  and  with  the  same  result. 
Yet  his  answer  to  those  who  urged  him  to  punish 

7 


98  HISTORICAL  TALES. 

the  conspirator  was  a  noble  one,  and  his  trustfulness 
worth  far  more  than  a  security  due  to  cruelty  and 
suspicion. 

"No,"  he  said,  "I  have  sworn  not  to  shed  Chris- 
tian blood,  and  I  will  keep  my  oath.  There  are  two 
ways  of  governing  an  empire, — tyranny  and  gener- 
osity. I  choose  the  latter.  I  will  not  be  a  tyrant.  I 
will  not  spare  money  ]  I  will  scatter  it  on  all  hands." 

Only  for  the  offence  which  he  gave  his  people  by 
disregarding  their  prejudices,  Dmitri  might  have 
long  and  ably  reigned.  His  confidence  opened  the 
way  to  a  new  conspiracy,  of  which  Shuiski  was  again 
at  the  head.  Eeports  were  spread  through  the  city 
that  Dmitri  was  a  heretic  and  an  impostor,  and  that 
he  had  formed  a  plot  to  massacre  the  Muscovites  by 
the  aid  of  the  Poles  whom  he  had  introduced  into 
the  city. 

As  a  result  of  the  insidious  methods  of  the  con- 
spirators, the  whole  city  broke  out  in  rebellion,  and 
at  daybreak  on  the  29th  of  May,  1606,  a  body  of 
boyars  gathered  m  the  great  square  in  full  armor, 
and.  followed  by  a  multitude  of  townsmen,  advanced 
on  the  Kremlin,  whose  gates  were  thrown  open  by 
traitors  within. 

Dmitri,  who  had  only  fifty  guards  in  the  palace, 
was  aroused  by  the  din  of  bells  and  the  uproar  in 
the  streets.  An  armed  multitude  filled  the  outer 
court,  shouting,  "  Death  to  the  impostor !" 

Soon  conspirators  appeared  in  the  palace,  where 
the  czar,  snatching  a  sword  from  one  of  the  guards, 
and  attended  by  Basmanof,  attacked  them,  crying 
out,  "  I  am  not  a  Boris  for  you  I" 


THE  MACBETH  OF  RUSSIA.  99 

He  killed  several  with  his  own  hands,  but  Bas- 
manof  was  slain  before  him,  and  he  and  the  guards 
were  driven  back  from  chamber  to  chamber,  until 
the  guards,  finding  that  the  czar  had  disappeared, 
laid  down  their  arms. 

Dmitri,  seeing  that  resistance  was  hopeless,  had 
sought  a  distant  room,  and  here,  no  one  being  in 
sight,  had  leaped  from  a  window  to  the  ground. 
But  the  height  was  thirty  feet,  his  leg  was  broken 
by  the  fall,  and  he  fainted  with  the  pain. 

His  last  hope  of  life  was  gone.  Some  faithful  sol- 
diers who  found  him  sought  to  defend  him  against 
the  mob  who  soon  appeared,  but  their  resistance 
was  of  no  avail.  Dmitri  was  seized,  his  royal  gar- 
ments were  torn  off,  and  the  caftan  of  a  pastry-cook 
was  placed  upon  him.  Thus  dressed,  he  was  car- 
ried into  a  room  of  the  palace  for  the  mockery  of  a 
trial. 

"  Bastard  dog,"  cried  one  of  the  Eussians,  "  tell 
us  who  you  are  and  whence  you  came." 

"  You  all  know  I  am  your  czar,"  replied  Dmitri, 
bravely,  "  the  legitimate  son  of  Ivan  Yassilievitch. 
If  you  desire  my  death,  give  me  time  at  least  to 
collect  my  senses." 

At  this  a  Eussian  gentleman  named  Yalnief  shouted 
out, — 

"  What  is  the  use  of  so  much  talk  with  the  her- 
etic dog?  This  is  the  way  I  confess  this  Polish 
fifer."  And  he  put  an  end  to  the  agony  of  Dmitri 
by  shooting  him  through  the  breast. 

In  an  instant  the  mob  rushed  on  the  lifeless  body, 
slashing  it  with  axes  and  swords.     It  was  carried 


100  HISTORICAL  TALES. 

out,  placed  on  a  table,  and  a  set  of  bagpipes  set  on 
the  breast  with  the  pipe  in  the  mouth. 

"You  played  on  us  long  enough;  now  play  for 
us,"  cried  the  ribald  insulter. 

Others  lashed  the  corpse  with  their  whips,  crying, 
"  Look  at  the  czar,  the  hero  of  the  Germans." 

For  three  days  Dmitri's  body  lay  exposed  to  the 
view  of  the  populace,  but  it  was  so  hacked  and  man- 
gled that  none  could  recognize  in  it  the  gallant  young 
man  who  a  few  days  before  had  worn  the  imperial 
robes  and  crown. 

On  the  third  night  a  blue  flame  was  seen  playing 
over  the  table,  and  the  guards,  frightened  by  this 
natural  result  of  putrefaction,  hastened  to  bury  the 
body  outside  the  walls.  But  superstitious  terrors 
followed  the  prodigy :  it  was  whispered  that  Dmitri 
was  a  wizard  who,  by  magic  arts,  had  the  power  to 
come  to  life  from  the  grave.  To  prevent  this  the 
body  was  dug  up  again  and  burned,  and  the  ashes 
were  collected,  mixed  with  gunpowder,  and  rammed 
into  a  cannon,  which  was  then  dragged  to  the  gate  by 
which  Dmitri  had  entered  Moscow.  Here  the  match 
was  applied,  and  the  ashes  of  the  late  czar  were 
hurled  down  the  road  leading  to  Poland,  whence  he 
had  come. 

Thus  died  a  man  who,  impostor  though  he  seems  to 
have  been,  was  perhaps  the  noblest  and  best  of  all 
the  Eussian  czars,  while  the  story  of  his  rise  and 
fall  forms  the  most  dramatic  tale  in  all  the  annals  of 
the  empire  over  which  for  one  short  year  he  ruled. 


THE  ERA    OF  THE  IMPOSTORS, 

We  have  told  how  the  ashes  of  Dmitri  were  loaded 
into  a  cannon  and  fired  from  the  gate  of  Moscow. 
They  fell  like  seeds  of  war  on  the  soil  of  Eussia,  and 
for  years  that  unhappy  land  was  torn  by  faction  and 
harried  by  invasion.  From  those  ashes  new  Dmitris 
seemed  to  spring,  other  impostors  rose  to  claim  the 
crown,  and  until  all  these  shades  were  laid  peace  fled 
from  the  land. 

Yassili  Shuiski,  the  leader  in  the  insurrection 
against  Dmitri,  had  himself  proclaimed  czar.  He 
was  destined  to  learn  the  truth  of  the  saying,  "  Un- 
easy lies  the  head  that  wears  a  crown."  For  hardly 
had  the  mob  that  murdered  Dmitri  dispersed  before 
rumors  arose  that  their  victim  was  not  dead.  His 
body  had  been  so  mangled  that  none  could  recognize 
it,  and  the  story  was  set  afloat  that  it  was  one  of  his 
ofiicers  who  had  been  killed,  and  that  he  had  escaped. 
Four  swift  horses  were  missing  from  the  stables  of 
the  palace,  and  these  were  at  once  connected  with  the 
assumed  flight  of  the  czar.  Eumor  was  in  the  air, 
and  even  in  Moscow  doubts  of  Dmitri's  death  grew 
rife. 

Fuel  soon  fell  on  the  flame.  Three  strangers  in 
Eussian  dress,  but  speaking  the  language  of  Poland, 
crossed  the  Oka  Eiver,  and  gave  the  ferryman  the 
high  fee  of  six  ducats,  saying,  "  You  have  ferried  the 

101 


102  HISTOKICAL  TALES. 

czar ;  when  he  comes  back  to  Moscow  with  a  Polish 
army  he  will  not  forget  your  service." 

At  a  German  inn,  a  little  farther  on,  the  same  party 
used  similar  language.  This  story  spread  like  wild- 
fire through  Russia,  and  deeply  alarmed  the  new  czar. 
To  put  it  down  he  sought  to  play  on  the  religious 
feelings  of  the  Eussians,  by  making  a  saint  of  the 
original  Dmitri.  A  body  was  produced,  said  to  have 
been  taken  from  the  grave  of  the  slain  boy  at  Uglitch, 
but  in  a  remarkable  state  of  preservation,  since  it 
still  displayed  the  fresh  hue  of  life  and  held  in  its 
hand  some  strangely  preserved  nuts.  Tales  of  mira- 
cles performed  by  the  relics  of  the  new  saint  were 
also  spread,  but  with  little  avail,  for  the  people  were 
not  very  ready  to  believe  the  man  who  had  stolen 
the  throne. 

War  broke  out  despite  these  manufactured  mira- 
cles. Prince  Shakhofskoi — the  supposed  leader  of 
the  party  who  had  told  the  story  at  the  Oka — was 
soon  in  the  field  with  an  army  of  Cossacks  and  peas- 
ants, and  defeated  the  royal  army.  But  the  new 
Dmitri,  in  whose  name  he  fought,  did  not  appear.  It 
seemed  as  if  Shakhofskoi  had  not  yet  been  able  to 
find  a  suitable  person  to  play  the  part. 

Eussia,  however,  was  not  long  without  a  pre- 
tender. During  Dmitri's  reign  a  young  man  had 
appeared  among  the  Cossacks  of  the  Yolga,  calling 
himself  Peter  Feodorovitch,  and  claiming  to  be  the 
son  of  the  former  czar  Feodor.  This  man  now  re- 
appeared and  presented  himself  to  the  rebel  army  as 
the  representative  of  his  uncle  Dmitri.  He  was 
eagerly  welcomed  by  Shakhofskoi,  who  badly  needed 


THE  ERA  OF  THE   IMPOSTORS.  103 

some  one  whom  he  might  offer  to  his  men  as  a 
prince. 

And  now  we  have  to  describe  one  of  the  strangest 
sieges  in  the  annals  of  history.  Shakhofskoi,  finding 
himself  threatened  by  a  powerful  army,  took  refuge 
in  the  fortified  town  of  Toula.  Here  he  was  soon 
joined  by  Bolotnikof,  a  Polish  general  who  had  come 
to  Eussia  with  a  commission  bearing  the  imperial 
seal  of  Dmitri.  In  this  stronghold  they  were  be- 
sieged by  an  army  of  one  hundred  thousand  men,  led 
by  the  czar  himself. 

Toula  was  strong.  It  was  vigorously  defended,  the 
garrison  fighting  bravely  for  their  lives.  'No  progress 
was  made  with  the  siege,  and  Shuiski  grew  discon- 
solate, for  he  knew  that  to  fail  now  would  be  ruin. 

From  this  state  of  anxiety  he  was  relieved  by  a 
remarkable  proposal,  that  of  an  obscure  individual 
who  promised  to  drown  all  the  people  of  Toula  and 
deliver  the  town  into  his  hands.  This  extraordi- 
nary offer,  made  by  a  monk  named  Kravkof,  was  at 
first  received  with  incredulous  laughter,  and  it  was 
some  time  before  the  czar  and  his  council  could  be 
brought  to  listen  to  the  words  of  an  idle  braggart, 
as  they  deemed  the  stranger.  In  the  end  the  czar 
asked  him  to  explain  his  plan. 

It  proved  to  be  the  following.  Toula  lay  in  a 
narrow  valley,  down  whose  centre  flowed  the  little 
river  Oupa,  passing  through  the  town.  Kravkof 
suggested  that  they  should  dam  this  stream  below 
the  town.  "  Do  as  I  say,"  he  remarked,  "  and  if  the 
whole  town  is  not  under  water  in  a  few  hours,  I  will 
answer  for  the  failure  with  my  head." 


104  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

The  project  thus  presented  seemed  feasible.  Im- 
mediately all  the  millers  in  the  army,  men  used  to 
the  kind  of  work  required,  were  put  under  his  orders, 
and  the  other  soldiers  were  set  to  carrying  sacks  of 
earth  to  the  place  chosen  for  the  dam.  As  this  rose 
in  height,  the  water  backed  up  in  the  town.  Soon 
many  of  the  streets  became  canals,  hundreds  of 
houses,  undermined  by  the  water,  were  destroyed, 
and  the  promise  of  Kravkof  seemed  likely  to  be 
fulfilled. 

Yet  the  garrison,  confined  in  what  had  become 
a  walled-in  lake,  fought  with  desperate  obstinacy. 
Water  surrounded  them,  yet  they  waded  to  the 
walls  and  fought.  Famine  decimated  them,  yet  they 
starved  and  fought.  A  terrible  epidemic  broke  out 
in  the  water-soaked  city,  but  the  garrison  fought 
on.  Dreadful  as  were  their  surroundings,  they  held 
out  with  unflinching  courage  and  intrepidity. 

The  dam  was  the  centre  of  the  struggle.  The 
besiegers  sought  to  raise  it  still  higher  and  deepen 
the  water  in  the  streets ;  the  besieged  did  their  best 
to  break  it  down  and  relieve  the  city.  It  had  grown 
to  a  great  height  with  such  rapidity  that  the  super- 
stitious people  of  Toula  felt  sure  that  magic  had 
aided  in  its  building  and  fancied  that  it  might  be 
destroyed  by  magic  means.  A  monk  declared  that 
Shuiski  had  brought  devils  to  his  aid,  but  professed 
to  be  a  proficient  in  the  black  art,  and  offered,  for  a 
hundred  roubles,  to  fight  the  demons  in  their  own 
element. 

Bolotnikof  accepted  his  terms,  and  he  stripped, 
plunged  into  the  river,  and  disappeared.     For  a  full 


THE  ERA  OP  THE  IMPOSTORS.  105 

hour  nothing  was  seen  of  him,  and  every  one  gave 
him  up  for  lost.  But  at  the  end  of  that  time  he 
rose  to  the  surface  of  the  water,  his  body  covered 
with  scratches.  The  story  he  had  to  tell  was,  to  say 
the  least,  remarkable. 

"  I  have  had  a  frightful  conflict,"  he  said,  "  with 
the  twelve  thousand  devils  Shuiski  has  at  work  upon 
his  dam.  I  have  settled  six  thousand  of  them,  but 
the  other  six  thousand  are  the  worst  of  all,  and  will 
not  give  in." 

Thus  against  men  and  devils  alike,  against  water, 
famine,  and  pestilence,  fought  the  brave  men  of 
Toula,  holding  out  with  extraordinary  courage. 
Letters  came  to  them  in  Dmitri's  name,  promising 
help,  but  it  never  came.  At  length,  after  months 
of  this  brave  defence  had  elapsed,  Shakhofskoi  pro- 
posed that  they  should  capitulate.  The  Cossacks  of 
the  garrison,  furious  at  the  suggestion,  seized  and 
thrust  him  into  a  dungeon.  Not  until  every  scrap 
of  food  had  been  eaten,  horses  and  dogs  devoured, 
even  leather  gnawed  as  food,  did  Bolotnikof  and 
Peter  the  pretender  offer  to  yield,  and  then  only  on 
condition  that  the  soldiers  should  receive  honorable 
treatment.  If  not,  they  would  die  with  arms  in 
their  hands,  and  devour  one  another  as  food,  rather 
than  surrender.  As  for  themselves,  they  asked  for 
no  pledges  of  safety. 

Shuiski  accepted  the  terms,  and  the  gates  were 
opened.  Bolotnikof  advanced  boldly  to  the  czar  and 
offered  himself  as  a  victim,  presenting  his  sword 
with  the  edge  laid  against  his  neck. 

"  I  have  kept  the  oath  I  swore  to  him  who,  rightly 


106  HISTORICAL  TALES. 

or  wrongly,  calls  himself  Dmitri,"  he  said.  "De- 
serted by  him,  I  am  in  your  power.  Cut  off  my 
head  if  you  will ;  or,  if  you  will  spare  my  life,  I  will 
serve  you  as  I  have  served  him." 

This  appeal  was  wasted  on  Shuiski.  He  forgot 
the  clemency  which  the  czar  Dmitri  had  formerly 
shown  to  him,  sent  Bolotnikof  to  Kargopol,  and  soon 
after  ordered  him  to  be  drowned.  Peter  the  pre- 
tender was  hanged  on  the  spot.  Shakhofskoi  alone 
was  spared.  They  found  him  in  chains,  which  he 
said  had  been  placed  on  him  because  he  counselled 
the  obstinate  rebels  to  submit.  Shuiski  set  him  free, 
and  the  first  use  he  made  of  his  liberty  Avas  to  kindle 
the  rebellion  again. 

Thus  ended  this  remarkable  siege,  one  in  some  re- 
spects without  parallel  in  the  history  of  war.  What 
followed  must  be  briefly  told.  Though  the  siege  of 
Toula  ended  with  the  hanging  of  one  pretender  to 
the  throne,  another  was  already  in  the  field.  The 
new  Dmitri,  in  whose  name  the  war  was  waged,  had 
made  his  appearance  during  the  siege.  Some  of  the 
ofiicers  of  the  first  Dmitri  pretended  to  recognize 
him,  but  in  reality  he  was  a  coarse,  vulgar,  ignorant 
knave,  who  had  badly  learned  his  lesson,  and  lacked 
all  the  native  princeliness  of  his  predecessor. 

Yet  he  had  soon  a  large  army  at  his  back,  and 
with  it,  on  April  24,  1608,  he  defeated  the  army  of 
the  czar  with  great  slaughter.  He  might  easily  have 
taken  Moscow,  but  instead  of  advancing  on  it  he 
halted  at  the  village  of  Tushino,  twelve  versts  away, 
where  he  held  his  court  for  seventeen  months. 

Meanwhile  still  another  pretender  appeared,  who 


THE   ERA   OF  THE   IMPOSTORS.  107 

called  himself  Feeder,  son  of  the  czar  Feodor.  He 
presented  himself  to  the  Don  Cossacks,  who  brought 
him  in  chains  to  Dmitri,  by  whom  he  was  promptly 
put  to  death.  Soon  afterwards  Marina,  wife  of  the 
first  Dmitri,  who  had  been  released,  with  her  father, 
by  Shuiski,  was  brought  into  the  camp  of  the  pre- 
tender. And  here  an  interesting  bit  of  comedy  was 
played.  Marina,  rather  than  go  back  to  meet  ridi- 
cule in  Poland,  was  ready  to  become  the  wife  of 
this  vulgar  impostor,  though  she  saw  at  once  that 
he  was  not  the  man  he  claimed  to  be. 

She  met  him  coldly  at  first,  but  at  a  second  meet- 
ing she  greeted  him  with  a  great  show  of  tenderness 
before  the  whole  army,  being  glad,  it  would  appear, 
to  regain  her  old  position  on  any  terms.  The  news 
that  Marina  had  recognized  the  pretender  brought 
over  numbers  to  his  side,  and  soon  nearly  all  Eussia 
had  declared  for  him,  the  only  cities  holding  out 
being  Moscow,  Novgorod,  and  Smolensk. 

The  false  Dmitri  had  now  reached  the  summit 
of  his  fortunes.  A  rapid  decline  followed.  One  of 
his  generals,  who  laid  siege  to  the  monastery  of  the 
Trinity,  near  Moscow,  was  repulsed.  His  partisans 
were  defeated  in  other  quarters.  Soon  the  whole 
aspect  of  the  war  changed.  A  new  enemy  to  Eus- 
sia came  into  the  field,  Sigismund,  King  of  Poland, 
who  laid  siege  to  the  strong  city  of  Smolensk,  while 
the  army  of  the  czar,  which  marched  to  its  relief, 
suffered  an  annihilating  defeat. 

This  result  closed  the  reign  of  Shuiski.  An  insur- 
rection broke  out  in  Moscow,  he  was  forced  to  become 
a  monk,  and  in  the  end  was  delivered  to  Sigismund 


108  HISTORICAL  TALES. 

and  died  in  prison.  Thus  was  Dmitri  avenged.  The 
new  condition  of  affairs  proved  as  disastrous  to  the 
false  Dmitri.  His  Poles  deserted  him,  his  power 
vanished,  and  he  descended  to  the  level  of  a  mere 
Cossack  robber.  In  December,  1610,  murder  ended 
his  career. 

Smolensk  fell  after  a  siege  of  eighteen  months, 
but  at  the  last  moment  a  powder  magazine  exploded 
and  set  fire  to  the  city,  and  Sigismund  became  mas- 
ter only  of  a  heap  of  ruins.  The  Poles  in  Moscow, 
attacked  by  the  Eussians,  took  possession  of  the 
Kremlin,  burned  down  most  of  the  city,  and  massa- 
cred a  hundred  thousand  of  the  people.  Anarchy 
was  rampant  everywhere.  New  chiefs  appeared  in 
all  quarters.  Each  town  declared  for  itself  The 
Swedes  took  possession  of  Novgorod.  A  third  Dmitri 
appeared,  and  dwelt  in  state  for  a  while,  but  was 
soon  taken  and  hanged.  The  whole  great  empire 
was  in  a  state  of  frightful  confusion,  and  seemed  as 
if  it  was  about  to  fall  to  pieces. 

From  this  fate  it  was  saved  by  one  of  the  common 
people,  a  butcher  of  Nijni  Novgorod,  Kozma  Minin 
by  name.  Brave,  honest,  patriotic,  and  sensible, 
this  man  aroused  his  fellow-citizens,  who  took  up 
arms  for  the  deliverance  of  their  country.  Other 
towns  followed  this  example,  an  army  was  raised 
with  Prince  Pojarski  at  its  head,  and  Minin,  the 
patriotic  butcher,  seconded  him  in  an  administrative 
capacity,  being  hailed  by  the  people  as  "the  elect 
of  the  whole  Eussian  empire." 

Driving  the  Poles  before  him,  Pojarski  entered 
Moscow,  and  in  October,  1612,  became   master  of 


THE  ERA  OP  THE   IMPOSTORS.  109 

the  Kremlin.  The  impostors  all  disappeared;  Ma- 
rina and  her  three-year-old  son  Ivan  were  captured, 
the  child  to  be  hanged  and  she  to  end  her  eventful 
life  in  prison  ;  anarchy  vanished,  and  peace  returned 
to  the  realm. 

The  end  came  in  1613,  when  a  national  council 
was  convened  to  choose  a  new  czar.  Pojarski  refused 
the  crown,  and  Michael  Eomanof,  a  boy  of  sixteen, 
scion  of  one  of  the  noblest  families  of  Eussia,  and 
allied  to  the  Euriks  by  the  female  line,  was  elected 
czar.     His  descendants  still  hold  the  throne. 


THE  BOOKS  OF  ANCESTRY. 

The  noble  families  of  Russia,  for  the  most  part 
descendants  of  the  Scandinavian  adventurers  who 
had  come  in  with  Eurik,  were  as  proud  in  their  way 
as  the  descendants  of  the  vikings  who  came  to  Eng- 
land under  William  of  Normandy.  Their  books  of 
pedigree  were  kept  with  the  most  scrupulous  care, 
and  in  these  were  set  down  not  only  the  genealogies 
of  the  families,  but  every  office  that  had  been  held 
by  any  ancestor,  at  court,  in  the  army,  or  in  the  ad- 
ministration. 

"With  this  there  is  no  special  fault  to  be  found.  It 
is  as  well,  doubtless,  to  keep  the  pedigrees  of  men 
as  it  is  to  keep  those  of  horses  and  dogs  ;  though  the 
animals,  being  ignorant  of  their  records,  are  less 
likely  to  make  them  a  matter  of  pride  and  presump- 
tion. In  Eussia  the  fact  that  certain  men  kuew  the 
names  and  standing  of  their  ancestors  led  to  the 
most  absurd  consequences.  The  books  of  ancestry 
were  constantly  appealed  to  for  the  support  of  fool- 
ish pretensions,  and  the  nobles  of  Eussia  strutted 
like  so  many  peacocks  in  their  insensate  pride  of 
family. 

In  no  other  country  has  the  question  of  precedence 

been  carried  to  such  ridiculous   lengths  as  it  was 

in  Eussia  in  the  days  of  the  early  Eomanofs.     If  a 

nobleman  were  appointed  to  a  post  at  court  or  a 

110 


THE   BOOKS  OF  ANCESTRY.  Ill 

position  in  the  army,  he  at  once  examined  the  books 
of  ancestry  to  learn  if  the  officials  under  whom  he 
would  serve  had  fewer  ancestors  on  record  than  he. 
If  such  proved  to  be  the  case  the  office  was  refused, 
or  accepted  under  protest,  the  government  being, 
metaphorically,  forced  to  fall  on  its  knees  to  the 
haughtiness  of  its  offended  lordling. 

The  folly  of  the  nobles  went  even  farther  than 
this.  The  height  of  their  genealogy  counted  for  as 
much  as  its  length.  They  would  refuse  to  accept 
positions  under  persons  whose  ancestors  were  shown 
by  the  books  to  have  been  subordinate  to  theirs  in 
the  same  positions.  If  it  appeared  that  the  John 
of  five  centuries  before  had  been  under  the  Peter  of 
that  period,  the  modern  Peter  was  too  proud  to  ac- 
cept a  similar  position  under  the  modern  John.  And 
so  it  went,  until  court  life  became  a  constant  scene 
of  bickering  and  discontent,  and  of  murmurs  at  the 
most  trifling  slights  and  neglects.  In  short,  it  be- 
came necessary  that  an  office  of  genealogy  should  be 
established  at  court,  in  which  exact  copies  of  the 
family  trees  and  service  registers  of  the  noble  fam- 
ilies were  kept,  and  the  officers  here  employed  found 
enough  to  keep  them  busy  in  settling  the  endless 
disputes  of  their  lordly  clients. 

In  the  reign  of  Theodore,  the  third  czar  of  the 
Eomanof  dynasty,  this  ridiculous  sentiment  reached 
its  climax,  and  it  became  almost  impossible  to  ap- 
point a  wise  man  to  office  over  a  fool,  if  the  fool's 
ancestors  had  happened  to  hold  the  same  office  over 
those  of  the  man  of  wisdom.  The  fancy  seemed  to 
be  held  that  folly  and  wisdom  are  handed  down  from 


112  HISTORICAL  TALES. 

father  to  son,  a  conceit  which  is  often  the  very  re- 
verse of  the  truth. 

Theodore  was  a  feeble  youth,  who  reigned  little 
more  than  five  years,  yet  in  that  time  he  managed 
to  bury  this  folly  out  of  sight.  Annoyed  by  the 
constant  bickerings  of  courtiers  and  officials,  he  con- 
sulted with  his  able  minister,  Prince  Yassili  Galitzin, 
and  hit  on  a  means  of  ridding  himself  of  the  diffi- 
culty. 

Proclamation  was  made  that  all  the  noble  families 
of  the  kingdom  should  deliver  their  service  rolls  into 
court  by  a  fixed  date,  that  they  might  be  cleared 
of  certain  errors  which  had  unavoidably  crept  into 
them.  The  order  was  obeyed,  and  a  multitude  of 
these  precious  documents  were  brought  into  the 
palace  halls  of  the  czar.  The  heads  of  the  noble 
families  and  the  higher  clergy  were  now  sent  for, 
composing  a  proud  assembly,  before  whom  the  patri- 
arch, who  had  received  his  instructions,  made  an 
eloquent  address.  He  ended  by  speaking  of  the 
claims  to  precedence  in  the  following  words  : 

"  They  are  a  bitter  source  of  every  kind  of  evil ; 
they  render  abortive  the  most  useful  enterprises,  in 
like  manner  as  the  tares  stifle  the  good  grain  ;  they 
have  introduced,  even  into  the  hearts  of  families,  dis- 
sension, confusion,  and  hatred.  But  the  pontiff  com- 
prehends the  grand  design  of  his  czar;  God  alone 
could  have  inspired  it !" 

Though  utterly  ignorant  of  what  that  design 
was,  the  grandees  felt  compelled  to  express  a  warm 
approval  of  these  words.  At  this  Theodore,  who 
pretended  to  be  enraptured  by  their  unanimous  ap- 


THE   BOOKS   OF   ANCESTRY.  113 

plause,  suddenly  rose,  and,  simulating  a  burst  of 
patriotic  enthusiasm,  proclaimed  the  abolition  of  all 
their  hereditary  claims. 

"  That  the  very  recollection  of  them  may  be  for- 
ever extinguished,"  he  exclaimed,  "  let  all  the  papers 
relative  to  these  titles  be  instantly  consumed." 

The  fire  was  already  prepared,  and  by  his  orders 
the  precious  papers  were  hurled  into  the  flames  be- 
fore the  anguished  eyes  of  the  nobles,  who  did  not 
dare  in  that  despotic  court  to  express  their  true  feel- 
ings, and  strove  to  hide  their  dismay  under  hollow 
acclamations  of  assent. 

As  what  they  deemed  their  most  valuable  pos- 
sessions were  thus  converted  to  ashes  before  their 
eyes,  the  patriarch  again  rose,  and  declared  an 
anathema  against  any  one  who  should  dare  to  op- 
pose this  order  of  the  czar.  An  "  Amen"  that  was 
like  a  groan  came  from  the  lips  of  the  horrified 
nobles,  and  precedence  went  up  in  flames. 

The  czar  had  no  thought  of  effacing  the  noble 
families.  New  books  were  prepared,  in  which  their 
ancestry  was  described.  But  the  absurd  claims  which 
had  caused  such  discord  were  forever  abolished,  and 
court  life  thereafter  proved  smoother  and  easier  in 
consequence  of  the  iconoclastic  act  of  the  czar  Theo- 
dore. 


BOYHOOD   OF  PETER   THE 
GREAT. 

Peter  the  Great,  grandson  of  the  first  emperor 
of  the  Komanof  line,  was  a  man  of  such  extraor- 
dinary power  of  body  and  mind,  such  a  remarkable 
combination  of  common  sense,  mental  activity,  ad- 
vanced ideas,  and  determination  to  lift  Eussia  to  a 
high  place  among  the  nations,  with  cruelty,  gross- 
ness,  and  infirmities  of  vice  and  passion,  that  his 
reign  of  forty-three  years  fills  as  large  a  place  in 
Eussian  history  as  do  the  annals  of  all  the  preceding 
centuries,  and  the  progress  of  Eussia  during  this 
short  period  was  greater  than  in  any  other  epoch  of 
three  or  four  times  its  length. 

The  character  of  the  man  showed  in  the  boy,  and 
while  a  mere  child  he  began  those  steps  of  progress 
which  were  continued  throughout  his  life.  He  had 
two  brothers,  both  older  than  he,  and  sons  of  a  dif- 
ferent mother,  so  that  the  throne  seemed  far  from 
his  grasp.  But  Theodore,  the  oldest  of  the  three, 
died  after  a  brief  reign,  leaving  no  heirs  to  the 
throne.  Ivan,  the  second  son,  was  an  imbecile, 
nearly  blind,  and  subject  to  epileptic  fits.  The 
clergy  and  grandees,  in  consequence,  looked  upon 
Peter  as  the  moat  promising  successor  to  the  throne. 
But  he  was  still  only  a  child,  not  yet  ten  years  of  age. 

The  czar  Alexis  had  left  also  several  daughters ; 
114 


BOYHOOD  or  PETER  THE  GREAT.        115 

but  in  those  days  the  fate  of  princesses  of  the  blood 
was  a  harsh  one.  They  were  not  permitted  to  marry, 
and  were  consigned  to  convents,  where  they  knew 
nothing  of  what  was  passing  in  the  busy  world 
without.  One  of  the  daughters,  Sophia  by  name, 
had  escaped  from  this  fate.  At  her  earnest  request 
she  was  taken  from  the  convent  and  permitted  to 
nurse  her  sickly  brother  Theodore. 

She  was  a  woman  of  high  intelligence,  bold  and 
ambitious  by  nature,  and  during  her  residence  in 
court  learned  much  of  the  politics  of  the  empire 
and  took  some  part  in  its  government.  After  the 
death  of  Theodore  she  contrived  to  have  herself 
named  regent  for  her  two  brothers,  Ivan  being 
plainly  unfit  to  rule,  and  Peter  too  young. 

There  are  many  stories  told  about  her,  of  which 
probably  the  half  are  not  true.  It  is  said  that  she 
kept  her  young  brother  at  a  distance  from  Moscow, 
where  she  surrounded  him  with  ministers  of  evil, 
whose  business  it  was  to  encourage  him  in  riot  and 
dissipation,  to  the  end  that  he  might  become  a  moral 
monster,  odious  and  insupportable  to  the  nation  at 
large.  Such  a  course  had  been  pursued  with  Ivan 
the  Terrible,  and  to  it  was  largely  due  his  incredible 
iniquity. 

If  Sophia  had  really  any  such  purpose  in  view, 
she  was  playing  with  edge-tools.  She  quite  mistook 
the  character  of  her  young  brother,  and  forgot  that 
the  same  rule  may  work  differently  in  different 
cases.  The  steps  taken  to  make  the  boy  base,  if 
really  so  intended,  aided  to  make  him  great.  His 
morals  were  corrupted,  his  health  was  impaired,  and 


116  HISTORICAL  TALES. 

his  heart  hardened  by  the  excesses  of  his  youth,  but 
his  removal  from  the  palace  atmosphere  of  flattery 
and  effeminacy  tended  to  make  him  self-reliant, 
while  his  free  life  in  the  country  and  the  activity 
which  it  encouraged  helped  to  develop  the  native 
energy  of  his  character. 

It  is  probable  that  Sophia  had  no  such  intention 
to  corrupt  the  nature  of  the  child,  for  she  showed 
no  ill  will  against  him.  It  was  apparently  to  his 
mother,  rather  than  to  his  sister,  that  his  residence 
in  the  country  was  due,  and  he  was  obliged  to  go 
frequently  to  Moscow,  to  take  part  in  ceremonial 
affairs,  while  his  name  was  used  in  all  public  docu- 
ments, many  of  which  he  was  required  to  sign. 

From  early  life  the  boy  had  shown  himself  active, 
intelligent,  quick  to  learn,  and  full  of  curiosity.  He 
was  particularly  interested  in  military  affairs,  and 
playing  at  soldiers  was  one  of  the  leading  diver- 
sions of  his  youth.  Only  a  day  or  two  after  a  great 
riot  in  Moscow,  in  which  numbers  of  nobles  were 
slaughtered,  and  in  which  the  child  had  looked  un- 
moved into  the  savage  faces  of  the  rioters,  he  sent 
to  the  arsenal  for  drums,  banners,  and  arms.  Uni- 
forms and  wooden  cannon  were  supplied  him,  and  on 
his  eleventh  birthday — in  1683 — he  was  allowed  to 
have  some  real  guns,  with  which  he  fired  salutes. 

From  his  country  home  at  Preobrajensk  messen- 
gers came  almost  daily  to  Moscow  for  powder,  lead, 
and  shot ;  small  brass  and  iron  cannon  were  supplied 
the  boy,  and  drummer-boys,  selected  from  the  dif- 
ferent regiments,  were  sent  to  him.  Thus  he  was 
allowed  to  play  at  soldier  to  his  heart's  content. 


BOYHOOD  OF  PETER  THE  GREAT.       117 

A  company  was  formed  from  the  younger  domes- 
tics of  the  place,  fifty  in  number,  the  officers  being 
sons  of  the  boyars  or  lords.  But  these  were  required 
by  the  alert  boy  to  pass  through  all  the  grades  of 
the  service,  which  he  also  did  himself,  serving  suc- 
cessively as  private,  sergeant,  lieutenant,  and  captain, 
and  finally  as  colonel  of  the  regiment  which  grew 
from  this  youthful  company.  Peter  called  his  com- 
pany "  the  guards,"  but  it  was  known  in  Moscow  as 
the  "pleasure  company,"  or  "troops  for  sport."  In 
time,  however,  it  grew  into  the  Preobrajensky  Guards, 
a  celebrated  regiment  which  is  still  kept  up  as  the 
first  regiment  of  the  Eussian  Imperial  Guard,  and  of 
which  the  emperor  is  always  the  colonel.  Another 
company,  formed  on  the  same  plan  in  an  adjoining 
village,  became  the  Semenofsky  Eegiment.  From 
these  rudiments  grew  the  present  Eussian  army. 

These  military  exercises  soon  ceased  to  be  child's 
play  to  the  active  lad.  He  gave  himself  no  rest  from 
his  prescribed  duties,  stood  his  watch  in  turn,  shared 
in  the  labors  of  the  camp,  slept  in  the  tents  of  his 
comrades,  and  partook  of  their  fare.  He  used  to 
lead  his  company  on  long  marches,  during  which  the 
strictest  discipline  was  maintained,  and  the  camps  at 
night  were  guarded  as  in  an  enemy's  country. 

On  reaching  his  thirteenth  year  the  boy  took  fur- 
ther steps  in  his  military  education,  building  a  small 
fortress,  whose  remains  are  still  preserved.  This 
was  constructed  with  great  care,  and  took  nearly 
a  year  to  build.  At  the  suggestion  of  a  German 
officer  it  was  named  Pressburg,  the  name  being 
given  with  much  ceremony,  Peter  leading  from  Mos- 


118  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

COW  a  procession  of  most  of  the  court  officials  and 
nobles  to  take  part  in  the  performance. 

These  military  sports  were  not  enough  for  the 
active  mind  of  the  boy,  who  kept  himself  busy  at  a 
dozen  labors.  He  used  to  hammer  and  forge  in  the 
blacksmith's  shop,  became  an  expert  with  the  lathe, 
and  learned  the  art  of  printing  and  binding  books. 
He  built  himself  a  wheelbarrow  and  other  articles 
which  he  needed,  and  at  a  later  date  it  was  said  that 
he  "  knew  excellently  well  fourteen  trades." 

When  in  Moscow,  Peter  spent  much  of  his  time  in 
the  foreign  quarter,  joining  his  associates  there  in  the 
beer,  wine,  and  tobacco  of  which  they  were  specially 
fond,  and  questioning  them  about  a  thousand  sub- 
jects unknown  to  the  Eussians,  thus  acquiring  a 
wide  knowledge  of  men  and  affairs.  He  troubled 
himself  little  about  rank  or  position,  making  a  com- 
panion of  any  one,  high  or  low,  from  whom  anything 
could  be  learned,  while  any  mechanical  curiosity 
particularly  attracted  him. 

A  sextant  and  astrolabe  were  brought  him  from 
France,  of  whose  use  no  one  could  inform  him,  though 
he  asked  all  whom  he  met.  At  length  a  Dutch  mer- 
chant, Franz  Timmermann  by  name,  was  brought 
him,  who  measured  with  the  instrument  the  distance 
to  a  neighboring  house. 

Peter  was  delighted,  and  eagerly  asked  to  be 
taught  how  to  use  the  instrument  himself. 

"It  is  not  so  easy,"  replied  Timmermann;  "you 
must  first  learn  arithmetic  and  geometry." 

Here  was  a  new  incentive.  The  boy  at  once  set 
to  work,  spending  all  his  leisure  time,  day  and  night, 


BOYHOOD   OF   PETER   THE   GREAT.  119 

over  these  studies,  to  which  he  afterwards  added 
geography  and  fortification.  It  was  in  this  desultory 
way  that  his  education  was  gained,  no  regular  course 
of  training  being  prescribed,  and  his  strong  self  will 
breaking  through  all  family  discipline. 

We  may  end  here  what  we  have  to  say  about  the 
boy's  military  activity.  His  army  gradually  grew 
until  it  numbered  five  thousand  men,  mainly  foreign- 
ers, who  were  commanded  by  General  Gordon,  a 
Scotch  ofScer.  Lefort,  a  Swiss,  who  had  become  one 
of  Peter's  favorite  companions,  now  undertook  to 
raise  an  army  of  twelve  thousand  men.  He  suc- 
ceeded in  this,  and  unexpectedly  found  himself  made 
general  of  this  force. 

It  is,  however,  of  the  boy's  activity  in  naval  af- 
fairs that  we  must  now  speak.  Timmermann  had 
become  one  of  his  constant  companions,  and  was 
always  teaching  him  something  new.  One  day  in 
1688,  when  Peter  was  sixteen  years  old,  he  was 
wandering  about  one  of  the  country  estates  of  the 
throne,  near  the  village  of  Ismailovo.  An  old  build- 
ing in  the  flax-yard  attracted  his  attention,  and  he 
asked  one  of  the  servants  what  it  was. 

"  It  is  a  storehouse,"  the  man  said,  "  in  which  was 
put  all  the  rubbish  that  was  left  after  the  death  of 
Nikita  Eooianof,  who  used  to  live  here." 

Peter  at  once,  curious  to  see  this  "  rubbish,"  had 
the  doors  opened,  went  in,  and  looked  about.  In  one 
corner,  bottom  upward,  lay  a  boat,  very  different  in 
build  from  the  flat-bottomed,  square-sterned  boats 
which  were  in  use  on  the  Eussian  rivers. 

"What  is  that?"  he  asked. 


120  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

"  It  is  an  English  boat,"  said  Timmermann. 

"  But  what  is  it  good  for  ?  Is  it  better  than  our 
boats  ?"  demanded  Peter. 

"  Yes.  If  you  had  sails  for  it,  you  would  find  that 
it  would  not  only  go  with  the  wind,  but  against  the 
wind." 

"  Against  the  wind !  Is  that  possible  ?  How  can 
it  be  possible  ?" 

With  his  usual  impatience,  the  boy  wanted  to  try 
it  at  once.  But  the  boat  proved  to  be  too  rotten  for 
use.  It  would  need  to  be  repaired  and  tarred,  and 
a  mast  and  sails  would  have  to  be  made. 

"Where  could  these  be  had  ?  Who  could  make  them  ? 
Timmermann  was  able  to  tell  him.  Some  thirty  years 
before,  a  number  of  Dutch  ship-carpenters  had  been 
brought  from  Holland  and  had  built  some  vessels 
on  the  Volga  Kiver  for  the  czar  Alexis.  These  had 
been  burned  by  a  brigand,  and  Brandt,  the  builder, 
had  returned  to  Moscow,  where  he  still  worked  as  a 
joiner.  In  those  days  it  was  easier  to  get  into  Eussia 
than  to  get  out  again,  foreigners  who  entered  the 
land  being  held  there  as  virtual  prisoners.  Even 
General  Gordon  tried  in  vain  to  get  back  to  his 
native  land. 

Old  Brandt  was  found,  looked  over  the  boat,  put 
it  in  order,  and  launched  it  on  a  neighboring  stream. 
To  Peter's  surprise  and  delight,  he  saw  the  boat 
moving  under  sail  up  and  down  the  river,  turning  to 
right  and  left  in  obedience  to  the  helm.  Greatly 
excited,  he  called  on  Brandt  to  stop,  jumped  in,  and, 
under  the  old  man's  directions,  began  to  manage  the 
boat  himself. 


BOYHOOD  OP  PETER  THE  GREAT.       121 

But  the  river  was  too  narrow  and  the  water  too 
shallow  for  easy  sailing,  and  the  energetic  boy  had 
the  boat  dragged  overland  to  a  large  pond,  where  it 
went  better,  but  still  not  to  his  satisfaction.  Where 
was  a  better  body  of  water?  He  was  told  that 
there  was  a  large  lake  about  fifty  miles  away,  but 
that  it  would  be  easier  to  build  a  new  boat  than  to 
drag  the  English  boat  that  distance. 

"Can  you  do  that  ?"  asked  the  eager  boy. 

"  Yes,  sire,"  said  Brandt,  "  but  I  will  need  many 
things." 

"Oh,  that  does  not  matter  at  all,"  said  Peter. 
"  We  can  have  anything." 

No  time  was  lost.  Brandt,  with  one  of  his  old 
comrades  and  Timmermann,  went  to  work  at  once 
in  the  woods  bordering  the  lake,  Peter  working 
with  them  when  he  could  get  away  from  Moscow, 
where  he  was  frequently  needed.  It  took  time. 
Timber  had  to  be  prepared,  a  hut  built  to  live  in, 
and  a  dock  to  launch  the  boats,  which  were  built  on 
a  larger  scale  than  the  small  English  craft.  Thus  it 
was  not  until  the  following  spring  that  the  new  boats 
were  ready  to  launch. 

Peter  meanwhile  had  been  married.  But  the 
charms  of  his  wife  could  not  keep  him  from  his  be- 
loved boats.  Back  he  went,  aided  in  completing  and 
launching  the  new  craft,  and  took  such  delight  in 
sailing  them  about  the  lake  that  he  could  hardly  be 
induced  to  return  to  Moscow  for  important  duties. 

In  this  humble  way  began  the  Eussian  navy,  which 
had  grown  to  large  proportions  before  Peter  died. 
The  little  English  boat,  which  some  think  was  one 


122  HISTORICAL  TALES. 

sent  by  Queen  Elizabeth  to  Ivan  the  Terrible,  has 
ever  since  Peter's  time  been  known  as  the  "  Grand- 
sire  of  the  Eussian  navy."  It  is  kept  with  the 
greatest  care  in  a  small  brick  building  within  the 
fortress  at  St.  Petersburg,  and  was  one  of  the  prin- 
cipal objects  of  interest  in  the  great  parade  in  that 
city  in  1870  on  the  two  hundredth  anniversary  of 
Peter's  birth. 

It  will  suffice  to  say,  in  conclusion,  that  shortly 
after  these  events  Peter  became  the  reigning  czar, 
and  turned  from  sport  to  earnest.  Sophia  had  en- 
joyed so  long  the  pleasure  of  ruling  that  her  am- 
bition grew  with  its  exercise,  and  she  sought  to  re- 
tain her  position  as  long  as  possible.  It  is  even  said 
that  she  laid  a  plot  to  assassinate  Peter,  so  that  only 
the  feeble  Ivan  should  be  left.  The  boy,  told  that 
assassins  were  seeking  him,  fled  for  his  life.  His 
fright  seems  to  have  been  groundless,  but  it  made 
him  an  undying  enemy  of  his  sister.  The  affair 
ended  in  the  bulk  of  the  nobility  and  soldiery  turn- 
ing to  his  side  and  in  Sophia  being  obliged  to  leave 
the  throne  for  a  convent,  where  she  spent  the  re- 
mainder of  her  life  in  the  misery  of  strict  seclusion. 


CARPENTER  PETER    OF 
ZAANDAM, 

On  the  banks  of  the  river  Zaan,  about  five  miles 
from  Amsterdam,  lies  the  picturesque  little  town  of 
Zaandam,  with  its  cottages  of  blue,  green,  and  pink, 
half  hidden  among  the  trees,  while  a  multitude  of 
windmills  surround  the  town  like  so  many  monu- 
ments to  thrift  and  enterprise.  Here,  two  centuries 
ago,  ship-building  was  conducted  on  a  great  scale, 
the  timber  being  sawed  by  windmill  power,  while 
the  workmen  were  so  numerous  that  a  vessel  was 
often  on  the  sea  in  five  weeks  after  the  keel  had 
been  laid. 

To  this  place,  in  August,  1697,  came  a  workman  of 
foreign  birth,  who  found  humble  quarters  in  a  small 
frame  hut  and  entered  himself  as  a  ship-carpenter 
at  the  wharf  of  Lynst  Eogge.  There  was  nothing 
specially  noticeable  about  the  stranger,  who  wore  a 
workman's  dress  and  a  tarpaulin  hat.  But  with  him 
were  some  comrades  dressed  in  the  strange  garb  of 
Eussia,  who  attracted  the  attention  of  the  people. 

As  for  the  new  workman,  he  did  not  long  escape 
curious  looks.  The  rumor  had  got  about  that  no  less 
a  personage  than  the  Czar  of  Eussia  was  in  the  town, 
and  it  began  to  be  suspected  that  this  unobtrusive 
stranger  might  be  the  man,  so  that  it  was  not  long 
before  inquisitive  eyes  began  to  follow  him  wherever 

123 


124  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

he  went.  The  rumor  soon  brought  large  crowds 
from  Amsterdam,  whose  presence  made  the  streets 
of  the  small  Dutch  town  anything  but  comfortable. 

It  was  well  known  that  Peter  I.,  Czar  of  Russia, 
was  travelling  through  the  nations  of  the  West.  A 
large  embassy,  composed  of  several  hundred  people, 
some  of  them  the  highest  officials  of  the  court,  had 
left  the  Muscovite  kingdom,  and  visited  the  several 
courts  and  large  cities  on  their  route,  being  every- 
where received  with  the  greatest  distinction.  But 
the  czar  did  not  appear  openly  among  them.  He  was 
there  in  disguise,  but  had  given  strict  orders  that  his 
presence  should  not  be  revealed.  He  hated  crowds, 
hated  adulation,  and  wished  only  to  be  let  alone  to 
see  and  learn  all  he  could.  So  while  the  ambassadors 
were  receiving  the  highest  honors  of  kingdoms  and 
courts  and  bowing  and  parading  to  their  hearts'  con- 
tent, the  czar  kept  himself  in  the  background  as  an 
amused  spectator,  thought  by  most  observers  to  be 
one  of  the  servants  of  the  gorgeous  train. 

And  thus  he  reached  Zaandam,  which  he  had  been 
told  was  the  best  place  to  learn  how  ships  were  built. 
Here  he  saw  fishiug  in  the  river  one  of  his  old 
acquaintances  of  the  foreign  quarter  of  Moscow,  a 
smith  named  Gerrit  Kist.  Calling  him  from  his  rod, 
and  binding  him  to  secrecy,  he  told  him  why  he  had 
come  to  Holland,  and  insisted  on  taking  up  quarters 
in  his  house.  This  house,  a  small  frame  hut,  is  now 
preserved  as  a  sacred  object,  enclosed  within  a  brick 
building,  and  has  long  been  a  place  of  pilgrimage 
even  for  royal  travellers.  Emperors  and  kings  have 
bent  their  lofty  heads  to  enter  its  low  door. 


CARPENTER   PETER   OF   ZAANDAM.  125 

Yet  Peter  lived  in  Zaandam  only  a  week,  and 
during  that  week  did  little  work  at  ship-building, 
spending  much  of  his  time  in  rowing  about  among 
the  shipping,  and  visiting  most  of  the  factories  and 
mills,  at  one  of  which  he  made  a  sheet  of  paper  with 
his  own  royal  hands. 

One  day  the  disguised  emperor  met  with  an  adven- 
ture. He  had  bought  a  hatful  of  plums,  and  was 
eating  them  in  the  most  plebeian  fashion  as  he  walked 
along  the  street,  when  he  met  a  crowd  of  boys.  He 
shared  his  fruit  with  some  of  these,  but  those  to 
whom  he  refused  to  give  plums  began  to  follow  him 
with  boyish  reviling,  and  when  he  laughed  at  them 
they  took  to  pelting  him  with  mud  and  stones.  Here 
was  a  situation  for  an  emperor  away  from  home.  The 
Czar  of  all  the  Eussias  had  to  take  to  his  heels  and 
run  for  refuge  to  the  Three  Swans  Inn,  where  he 
sent  for  the  burgomaster  of  the  town,  told  who  he 
was,  and  demanded  aid  and  relief.  At  least  we  may 
suppose  so,  for  an  edict  was  soon  issued  threatening 
punishment  to  all  who  should  insult  "  distinguished 
persons  who  wished  to  remain  unknown." 

The  end  of  Peter's  stay  soon  came.  A  man  in 
Zaandam  had  received  a  letter  from  his  son  in  Moscow, 
saying  that  the  czar  was  with  the  great  Eussian 
embassy,  and  describing  him  so  closely  that  he  could 
no  longer  remain  unknown.  This  letter  was  seen  by 
Pomp,  the  barber  of  Zaandam,  and  when  Peter  came 
into  his  place  with  his  Eussian  comrades  he  at  once 
knew  him  from  the  description  and  spread  the  news. 

From  that  time  the  czar  had  no  rest.  Wherever 
he  went  he  was  followed  by  crowds  of  curious  people. 


126  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

They  grew  so  annoying  that  at  length  he  leaped  in 
anger  from  his  boat  and  gave  one  of  the  most  forward 
of  bis  persecutors  a  sharp  cuff  on  the  cheek. 

"  Bravo,  Marsje !"  cried  the  crowd  in  delight : 
"  you  are  made  a  knight." 

The  czar  rushed  angrily  to  an  inn,  where  he  shut 
himself  up  out  of  sight.  The  next  day  a  large  ship 
was  to  be  moved  across  the  dike  by  means  of  cap- 
stans and  rollers,  a  difficult  operation,  in  which  Peter 
took  deep  interest.  A  place  was  reserved  for  him 
to  see  it,  but  the  crowd  became  so  great  as  to  drive 
back  the  guards,  break  down  the  railings,  and  half 
fill  the  reserved  space.  Peter,  seeing  this,  refused 
to  leave  his  house.  The  burgomaster  and  other  high 
officials  begged  him  to  come,  but  the  most  he  could 
be  got  to  do  was  to  thrust  his  head  out  of  the  door 
and  observe  the  situation. 

"  Te  veel  volks,  te  veel  volks"  ("  too  many  people"), 
he  bluntly  cried,  and  refused  to  budge. 

The  next  day  was  Sunday,  and  all  Amsterdam 
seemed  to  have  come  to  Zaandam  to  see  its  distin- 
guished guest.  He  escaped  them  by  fleeing  to  Am- 
sterdam. Getting  to  a  yacht  he  had  bought,  and  to 
which  he  had  fitted  a  bowsprit  with  his  own  hands, 
he  put  to  sea,  giving  no  heed  to  warnings  of  danger 
from  the  furious  wind  that  was  blowing.  Three 
hours  after  he  reached  Amsterdam,  where  his  ambas- 
sadors then  were,  and  where  they  were  to  have  a 
formal  reception  the  next  day. 

Eeceptions  were  well  enough  for  ambassadors,  but 
they  were  idle  flummery  to  the  czar,  who  had  come 
to  see,  not  to  bo  seen,  and  who  did  his  best  to  keep 


CARPENTER  PETER  OF  ZAANDAM.  127 

out  of  sight.  He  visited  the  fine  town  hall,  inspected 
the  docks,  saw  a  comedy  and  a  ballet,  consented  to 
sit  through  a  great  dinner,  witnessed  a  splendid  dis- 
play of  fireworks,  and,  most  interesting  to  him  of  all, 
was  entertained  with  a  great  naval  sham  fight,  which 
lasted  a  whole  day. 

Zaandam  has  the  credit  of  having  been  the  scene 
of  Peter  the  Great's  labor  as  a  shipwright,  but  it 
was  really  at  Amsterdam  that  his  life  as  a  work- 
man was  passed.  At  his  request  he  was  given  the 
privilege  of  working  at  the  docks  of  the  East  India 
Company,  a  house  being  assigned  him  within  the 
enclosure  where  he  could  dwell  undisturbed,  free 
from  the  curiosity  of  crowds.  As  a  mark  of  respect 
it  was  determined  to  begin  the  construction  of  a 
new  frigate,  one  hundred  feet  long,  so  that  the  dis- 
tinguished workman  might  see  the  whole  process  of 
the  building  of  a  ship.  "With  his  usual  impetuosity 
Peter  wished  to  begin  work  immediately,  and  could 
hardly  be  induced  to  wait  for  the  fireworks  to  burn 
themselves  out.  Then  he  set  out  for  Zaandam  on  his 
yacht  to  fetch  his  tools,  and  the  next  day,  August  30, 
presented  himself  as  a  workman  at  the  East  India 
Company's  wharf. 

For  more  than  four  months,  with  occasional  breaks, 
Peter  worked  diligently  as  a  ship- carpenter,  ten 
of  his  Eussian  companions — probably  much  against 
their  will — working  at  the  wharf  with  him.  He  was 
known  simply  as  Baas  Peter  (Carpenter  Peter),  and, 
while  sitting  on  a  log  at  rest,  with  his  hatchet  be- 
tween his  knees,  was  willing  to  talk  with  any  one 
who  addressed  him  by  this  name,  but  had  no  answer 


128  HISTORICAL  TALES. 

for  those  who  called  him  Sire  or  Your  Majesty. 
Others  of  the  Eussians  were  put  to  work  elsewhere, 
to  study  the  construction  of  masts,  blocks,  sails,  etc., 
some  of  them  were  entered  as  sailors  before  the 
mast,  and  Prince  Alexander  of  Imeritia  went  to  the 
Hague  to  study  artillery.  JN'one  of  them  was  al- 
lowed "to  take  his  ease  at  his  inn." 

Peter  insisted  on  being  treated  as  a  common  work- 
man, and  would  not  permit  any  difference  to  be 
made  between  him  and  his  fellow-laborers.  He  also 
demanded  the  usual  wages  for  his  work.  On  one 
occasion,  when  the  Earl  of  Portland  and  another 
nobleman  came  to  the  yard  to  have  a  sight  of  him, 
the  overseer,  to  indicate  him,  called  out,  "  Carpenter 
Peter  of  Zaandam,  why  don't  you  help  your  com- 
rades?" Without  a  word,  Peter  put  his  shoulders 
under  a  log  which  several  men  were  carrying,  and 
helped  to  lift  it  to  its  place. 

His  evenings  were  spent  in  studying  the  theory 
of  ship-building,  and  his  spare  hours  were  fully  oc- 
cupied in  observation.  He  visited  everything  worth 
seeing,  factories,  museums,  cabinets  of  coins,  theatres, 
hospitals,  etc.,  constantly  making  shrewd  remarks 
and  inquiries,  and  soon  becoming  known  from  his 
quick  questions,  "  What  is  that  for  ?  How  does  that 
work  ?    That  will  I  see." 

He  went  to  Zaandam  to  see  the  Greenland  whal- 
ing fleet,  visited  the  celebrated  botanical  garden 
with  the  great  Boerhaave,  studied  the  miscroscope  at 
Delft  under  Leuwenhoek,  became  intimate  with  the 
military  engineer  Coehorn,  talked  with  Schynvoet  of 
architecture,  and  learned  to  etch  from  Schonebeck. 


CARPENTER   PETER  OF   ZAANDAM.  129 

An  impression  of  a  plate  made  by  him,  of  Christianity 
victorious  over  Islam,  is  still  extant. 

He  made  himself  familiar  with  Dutch  home  life, 
mingled  with  the  merchants  engaged  in  the  Eussian 
trade,  went  to  the  Botermarkt  every  market-day, 
and  took  lessons  from  a  travelling  dentist,  experi- 
menting on  his  own  servants  and  suite,  probably 
not  much  to  their  enjoyment.  He  mended  his  own 
clothes,  learned  enough  of  cobbling  to  make  himself 
a  pair  of  slippers,  and,  in  short,  was  insatiable  in  his 
search  for  information  of  every  available  kind. 

His  work  on  the  frigate  whose  keel  he  had  helped 
to  lay  was  continued  until  it  was  launched.  It  was 
well  built,  and  for  many  years  proved  a  good  and 
useful  ship,  braving  the  perils  of  the  seas  in  the  East 
India  trade.  But  with  all  this  the  imperial  carpen- 
ter was  not  satisfied.  The  Dutch  methods  did  not 
please  him.  The  ship-masters  seemed  to  work  with- 
out rules  other  than  the  "  rule  of  thumb,"  having  no 
theory  of  ship-building  from  which  the  best  propor- 
tions of  a  vessel  could  be  deduced. 

Learning  that  things  were  ordered  differently  in 
English  ship-yards,  that  there  work  was  done  by 
rule  and  precept,  Peter  sent  an  order  to  the  Russian 
docks  not  to  allow  the  Dutch  shipwrights  to  work 
as  they  pleased,  but  to  put  them  under  Danish  or 
English  overseers.  For  himself,  he  resolved  to  go 
to  England  and  follow  up  his  studies  there.  King 
William  had  sent  him  a  warm  invitation  and  pre- 
sented him  a  splendid  yacht,  light,  beautifully  pro- 
portioned, and  armed  with  twenty  brass  cannon. 
Delighted  with  the  present,  he  sailed  in  it  to  Eng- 

9 


130  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

land,  escorted  by  an  English  fleet,  and  in  London 
found  an  abiding-place  in  a  house  which  a  few  years 
before  had  been  the  refuge  of  William  Penn  when 
charged  with  treason.  Here  he  slept  in  a  small 
room  with  four  or  five  companions,  and  when  the 
Kins:  of  Ensjland  came  to  visit  him,  received  his 
fellow-monarch  in  his  shirt-sleeves.  The  air  of  the 
room  was  so  bad  that,  though  the  weather  was  very 
cold,  William  insisted  on  a  window  being  raised. 

In  England  the  czar,  though  managing  to  see 
much  outside  the  ship-yards,  worked  steadily  at  Dept- 
ford  for  several  months,  leaving  only  when  he  had 
gained  all  the  special  knowledge  which  he  could  ob- 
tain. His  admiration  for  the  English  ship-builders 
was  high,  he  afterwards  saying  that  but  for  his  jour- 
ney to  England  he  would  have  always  remained  a 
bungler.  While  here  he  engaged  many  men  to  take 
service  in  Eussia,  shipwrights,  engineers,  and  others ; 
he  also  engaged  numerous  oflScers  for  his  navy  from 
Holland,  several  French  surgeons,  and  various  per- 
sons of  other  nationality,  the  whole  numbering  from 
six  to  eight  hundred  skilled  artisans  and  professional 
experts.  To  raise  money  for  their  advance  payment 
he  sold  the  monopoly  of  the  Eussian  tobacco  trade 
for  twenty  thousand  pounds.  Sixty  years  before,  his 
grandfather  Michael  had  forbidden  the  use  of  tobacco 
in  Eussia  under  pain  of  death,  and  the  prejudice 
against  it  was  still  strong.  But  in  spite  of  this  the 
use  of  tobacco  was  rapidly  spreading,  and  Peter  thus 
threw  down  the  bars. 

Great  numbers  of  anecdotes  are  afloat  about 
Peter's  doings  in  Holland  and  England, — many  of 


CARPENTER   PETER   OF   ZAANDAM.  131 

them,  doubtless,  invented.  The  sight  of  a  great 
monarch  going  about  in  workman's  clothes  and 
laboring  like  a  common  ship-carpenter  was  apt  to 
aid  the  imagination  of  story-tellers  and  give  rise 
to  numerous  tales  with  little  fact  to  sustain  them. 

In  May,  1698,  Peter  left  England  and  proceeded 
to  Amsterdam,  where  his  embassy  had  remained, 
often  in  great  distress  about  him,  for  the  winter  was 
cold  and  stormy  and  at  one  time  no  news  was  re- 
ceived from  him  for  a  month.  From  Amsterdam  he 
made  his  way  to  Yienna,  whence  he  proposed  to  go 
to  Yenice  and  Eome,  but  was  prevented  by  dis- 
turbing news  from  Moscow,  which  turned  his  steps 
homeward.  Here  he  was  to  show  a  new  phase  of 
his  varied  character,  as  will  be  seen  in  the  following 
tale. 


THE  FALL  OF  THE  STRELITZ. 

History  presents  us  with  four  instances  of  an  im- 
perial soldiery  who  took  the  power  into  their  own 
hands  and  for  a  time  ruled  as  the  tyrants  of  a 
nation.  These  were  the  Pretorian  Guards  of  Eome, 
the  Mamelukes  of  Egypt,  the  Janissaries  of  Turkey, 
and  the  Strelitz  of  Eussia.  Of  these,  the  Pretorian 
Guards  remained  pre-eminent,  and  made  emperors 
at  their  will.  The  other  three  came  to  a  terrible  end. 
History  elsewhere  records  the  tragic  fate  of  the 
Mamelukes  and  the  Janissaries :  we  are  here  con- 
cerned only  with  that  of  the  Strelitz  corps  of  Eussia. 

The  Strelitz  were  the  first  regular  military  force 
of  Eussia,  a  permanent  militia  of  fusileers,  formed 
during  the  early  reign  of  Ivan  the  Terrible,  and 
themselves  in  time  becoming  a  terror  to  the  nation. 
The  first  serious  outbreak  of  this  dangerous  civic 
guard  was  on  the  nomination  of  Peter  I.  to  the 
throne  of  the  czar.  They  did  not  dream  then  of  the 
terrible  revenge  which  this  despised  boy  would  take 
upon  them. 

Two  days  after  the  funeral  of  the  czar  Theodore 
the  insurrection  began,  the  Strelitz  marching  in  an 
armed  body  to  the  Kremlin,  where  they  accused 
nine  of  their  colonels  of  defrauding  them  of  their 
pay.  The  frightened  ministers  hastened  to  dismiss 
these  officers,  but  this  did  not  satisfy  the  savage 
182 


THE   PALL   OF   THE   STRELITZ.  133 

soldiery,  who  insisted  on  their  being  delivered  into 
their  hands.  This  done,  the  unfortunate  officers 
were  sentenced  to  be  scourged,  some  of  them  by 
that  fearful  Eussian  whip  called  the  knout. 

Their  success  in  this  outbreak  led  the  Strelitz  to 
greater  outrages.  The  tiger  in  their  savage  natures 
was  let  loose,  and  only  blood  could  appease  its  rage. 
Marching  to  the  Kremlin,  they  declared  that  the 
late  czar  had  been  poisoned  by  his  doctor,  and  de- 
manded the  death  of  all  those  in  the  plot.  Breaking 
into  the  palace,  they  seized  two  of  the  suspected 
princes  and  flung  them  from  the  windows,  to  be  re- 
ceived upon  the  pikes  of  the  soldiers  in  the  street 
below.  The  next  victim  was  one  of  the  Narishkins, 
the  uncles  of  Peter  the  Great.  He  was  massacred 
in  the  same  brutal  manner  and  his  bleeding  body 
dragged  through  the  streets.  Three  of  the  pro- 
scribed nobles  had  fled  for  sanctuary  to  a  church, 
but  were  torn  from  the  altar,  stripped  of  their  cloth- 
ing, and  cut  to  pieces  with  knives. 

The  next  victim  was  a  friend  and  favorite  of  the 
Strelitz,  who  was  killed  under  the  belief  that  he  was 
one  of  the  Narishkins.  Discovering  their  error,  the 
assassins  carried  the  mangled  body  of  the  young 
nobleman  to  the  house  of  his  father  for  interment. 
The  old  man,  timid  by  nature,  did  not  dare  to  com- 
plain of  the  savage  act,  and  even  rewarded  them  for 
bringing  him  the  body  of  his  son.  For  this  weak- 
ness he  was  bitterly  reproached  by  his  wife  and 
daughters  and  the  weeping  wife  of  the  victim. 

"What  could  I  do?"  pleaded  the  helpless  father; 
"  let  us  wait  for  an  opportunity  to  be  revenged." 


134  HISTORICAL  TALES. 

A  revengeful  servant  overheard  these  words  and 
repeated  them  to  the  soldiers.  In  a  sudden  fury 
the  savages  returned,  dragged  the  old  man  from  the 
room  by  the  hair  of  his  head,  and  cut  his  throat  at 
his  own  door. 

Meanwhile  some  of  the  Strelitz,  seeking  the  Dutch 
physician  Yongad,  who  had  attended  the  dying  czar 
and  was  accused  of  poisoning  him,  met  his  son 
and  asked  where  his  father  was.  "  I  do  not  know," 
replied  the  trembling  youth.  His  ignorance  was  in- 
stantly punished  with  death. 

In  a  few  minutes  a  German  physician  fell  in  their 
way.  "  You  are  a  doctor,"  they  cried.  "  If  you 
have  not  poisoned  our  master  Theodore,  you  have 
poisoned  others.  You  deserve  death."  And  in  a 
moment  the  unlucky  doctor  fell  a  victim  to  their 
blind  rage. 

The  Dutch  physician  was  at  length  discovered  and 
dragged  to  the  palace.  Here  the  princesses  begged 
hard  for  his  life,  declaring  that  he  was  a  skilful 
doctor  and  a  good  man  and  had  worked  hard  to 
save  their  brother's  life.  They  answered  that  he 
deserved  to  die  as  a  sorcerer  as  well  as  a  physician, 
for  they  had  found  the  skeleton  of  a  toad  and  the 
skin  of  a  snake  in  his  cabinet. 

The  next  victim  demanded  was  Ivan  Narishkin, 
who  they  were  sure  was  somewhere  concealed  in  the 
palace.  Not  finding  him,  they  threatened  to  burn 
down  the  building  unless  he  were  delivered  into 
their  hands.  At  this  terrifying  threat  the  young 
man  was  taken  from  his  place  of  concealment  and 
brought  to  them  by  the  patriarch,  who  held  in  his 


THE  FALL  OF  THE  STRELITZ.         135 

hands  an  image  of  the  Yirgin  Mary  which  was  said 
to  have  performed  miracles.  The  princesses  sur- 
rounded the  victim,  and,  kneeling  to  the  soldiers, 
prayed  with  tears  for  his  life. 

All  their  supplications  and  the  demands  of  the 
venerable  patriarch  were  without  effect  on  the  sav- 
age soldiery,  who  dragged  their  captives  to  the 
bottom  of  the  stairway,  went  through  the  forms  of 
a  mock  trial,  and  condemned  them  to  the  torture. 
They  were  sentenced  to  be  cut  to  pieces,  a  form  of 
punishment  to  which  parricides  are  condemned  in 
China  and  Tartary.  This  tragedy  went  on  until  all 
the  proscribed  on  whom  they  could  lay  their  hands 
had  perished  and  Sophia  felt  secure  in  her  power. 

In  the  end,  Ivan  and  Peter  were  declared  joint 
sovereigns  (1682),  and  their  sister  Sophia  was  made 
regent.  The  acts  of  the  Strelitz  were  approved  and 
they  rewarded,  the  estates  of  their  victims  were  con- 
fiscated in  their  favor,  and  a  monument  was  erected 
on  which  the  names  of  the  victims  were  inscribed 
as  traitors  to  their  country. 

The  Strelitz  bad  learned  their  power,  and  took 
frequent  occasion  to  exercise  it.  Twice  again  they 
broke  out  in  revolt  daring  the  regency  of  Sophia. 
After  the  accession  of  Peter  their  hostility  continued. 
He  had  sent  them  to  fight  on  the  frontiers.  He  had 
supplanted  them  with  regiments  drilled  in  the  Eu- 
ropean manner.  He  had  organized  a  corps  of  twelve 
thousand  foreigners  and  heretics.  He  had  ordered 
the  construction  of  a  fleet  of  a  hundred  vessels,  which 
would  add  to  the  weight  of  taxes  and  bring  more 
foreigners  into  the  country.     And  he  proposed  to 


136  HISTORICAL  TALES. 

leave  Russia,  to  journey  in  the  lands  of  the  heretics^ 
and  to  bring  back  to  their  sacred  land  the  customs 
of  profane  Europe. 

All  this  was  too  much  for  the  leaders  of  the  Stre> 
litz,  who  represented  old  Russia,  as  Peter  represented 
new.  They  resolved  to  sacrifice  the  czar  to  their 
rage.  Tradition  tells  the  following  story,  which, 
though  probably  not  true,  is  at  least  interesting. 
Two  leaders  of  the  Strelitz  laid  a  plot  to  start  a  fire 
at  night,  feeling  sure  that  Peter,  with  his  usual  ac- 
tivity, would  hasten  to  the  scene.  In  the  confusion 
attending  the  fire  they  meant  to  murder  him,  and 
then  to  massacre  all  the  foreigners  whom  he  had 
introduced  into  Moscow. 

The  time  fixed  for  the  consummation  of  this  plot 
was  at  hand.  A  banquet  was  held,  at  which  the 
principal  conspirators  assembled,  and  where  they 
sought  in  deep  potations  the  courage  necessary  for 
their  murderous  work.  Unfortunately  for  them, 
liquor  does  not  act  on  all  alike.  While  usually 
giving  boldness,  it  sometimes  produces  timidity. 
Two  of  the  villains  lost  their  courage  through  their 
potations,  left  the  room  on  some  pretext,  promising 
to  return  in  time,  and  hastened  to  the  czar  wuth  the 
story  of  the  plot. 

Peter  knew  not  the  meaning  of  the  words  timidity 
and  procrastination.  His  plans  were  instantly  laid. 
The  time  fixed  for  the  conflagration  was  midnight. 
He  gave  orders  that  the  hall  in  which  the  conspira- 
tors were  assembled  should  be  surrounded  exactly 
at  eleven.  Soon  after,  thinking  that  the  hour  had 
come,  he  sought  the  place  alone  and  boldly  entered 


THE  FALL  OF  THE  STRELITZ.         137 

the  room,  fully  expecting  to  find  the  conspirators  in 
the  hands  of  his  guards. 

To  his  consternation,  not  a  guard  was  present,  and 
he  found  himself  alone  and  unarmed  in  the  midst  of 
a  furious  band  who  were  just  swearing  to  compass 
his  destruction. 

The  situation  was  a  critical  one.  The  conspira- 
tors, dismayed  at  this  unlooked-for  visit,  rose  in  con- 
fusion. Peter  was  furious  at  his  guards  for  having 
exposed  him  to  this  peril,  but  instantly  perceived 
that  there  was  only  one  course  for  him  to  pursue. 
He  advanced  among  the  throng  of  traitors  with  a 
countenance  that  showed  no  trace  of  his  emotions, 
and  pleasantly  remarked, — 

"  I  saw  the  light  in  your  house  while  passing,  and, 
thinking  that  you  must  be  having  a  gay  time  to- 
gether, I  have  come  in  to  share  your  pleasure  and 
drain  a  cup  with  you." 

Then,  seating  himself  at  the  table,  he  filled  a  cup 
and  drank  to  his  would-be  assassins,  who,  on  their 
feet  about  him,  could  not  avoid  responding  to  the 
toast  and  drinking  his  health. 

But  this  state  of  affairs  did  not  long  continue. 
The  courage  of  the  conspirators  returned,  and  they 
began  to  exchange  looks  and  signs.  The  opportunity 
had  fallen  into  their  hands  ;  now  was  the  time  to  avail 
themselves  of  it.  One  of  them  leaned  over  to  Su- 
kanim,  one  of  their  leaders,  and  said,  in  a  low  tone, — 

"  Brother,  it  is  time." 

"I^ot  yet,"  said  Sukanim,  hesitating  at  the  critical 
moment. 

At  that  instant  Peter  heard  the  footsteps  of  his 


138  HISTORICAL  TALES. 

guards  outside,  and,  starting  to  his  feet,  knocked  the 
leader  of  the  assassins  down  by  a  violent  blow  in  his 
face,  exclaiming, — 

"  If  it  is  not  yet  time  for  you,  scoundrel,  it  is  for 
me." 

At  the  same  moment  the  guards  entered  the  room, 
and  the  conspirators,  panic-stricken  by  the  sight, 
fell  on  their  knees  and  begged  for  pardon. 

"  Chain  them !"  said  the  czar,  in  a  terrible  voice. 

Turning  then  to  the  commander  of  the  guards,  he 
struck  him  and  accused  him  of  having  disobeyed 
orders.  But  the  oflScer  proving  to  him  that  the 
hour  fixed  had  just  arrived,  the  czar,  in  sudden  re- 
morse at  his  haste,  clasped  him  in  his  arms,  kissed 
him  on  the  forehead,  proclaimed  his  fidelity,  and 
gave  the  traitors  into  his  charge. 

And  now  Peter  showed  the  savage  which  lay  within 
him  under  the  thin  veneer  of  civilization.  The  con- 
spirators were  put  to  death  with  the  cruellest  of  tor- 
tures, and,  to  complete  the  act  of  barbarity,  their 
heads  were  exposed  on  the  summit  of  a  column  with 
their  limbs  arranged  around  them  as  ornaments. 

Satisfied  that  this  fearful  example  would  keep 
Eussia  tranquil  during  his  absence,  Peter  set  out  on 
his  journey,  visiting  most  of  the  countries  of  West- 
ern Europe.  He  had  reached  Yienna,  and  was  on 
the  point  of  setting  out  for  Yen  ice,  when  word  was 
brought  him  from  Eussia  that  the  Strelitz  had  broken 
out  in  open  insurrection  and  were  marching  from 
their  posts  on  the  frontier  upon  Moscow. 

The  czar  at  once  left  Yienna  and  journeyed  with 
all  possible  speed  to  Eussia,  reaching  Moscow  in  Sep- 


THE   FALL   OF  THE   STRELITZ.  139 

tember,  1698.  His  appearance  took  all  by  surprise, 
for  none  knew  that  he  had  yet  left  Austria. 

He  came  too  late  to  suppress  the  insurrection. 
That  had  been  already  done  by  General  Gordon,  who, 
marching  in  all  haste,  had  met  the  rebels  about  thirty 
miles  from  Moscow  and  called  on  them  to  surrender. 
As  they  refused  and  attacked  the  troops,  he  opened 
on  them  with  cannon,  put  them  to  flight,  and  of  the 
survivors  took  captive  about  two  thousand.  These 
were  decimated  on  the  spot,  and  the  remainder  im- 
prisoned. 

This  was  punishment  enough  for  a  soldier,  but  not 
enough  for  an  autocrat,  whose  mind  was  haunted  by 
dark  suspicions,  and  who  looked  upon  the  outbreak 
as  a  plot  to  dethrone  him  and  to  call  his  sister  Sophia 
to  the  throne.  In  his  treatment  of  the  prisoners  the 
spirit  of  the  monster  Ivan  lY.  seems  to  have  entered 
into  his  soul,  and  the  cruelty  shown,  while  common 
enough  in  old-time  Eussia,  is  revolting  to  the  modern 
mind. 

The  trial  was  dragged  out  through  six  weeks,  with 
daily  torture  of  some  of  the  accused,  under  the  eyes 
of  the  czar  himself,  who  sought  to  force  from  them 
a  confession  that  Sophia  had  been  concerned  in  the 
outbreak.  The  wives  of  the  prisoners,  all  the  women 
servants  of  the  princesses,  even  poor  beggars  who 
lived  on  their  charity,  were  examined  under  torture. 
The  princesses  themselves,  Peter's  sisters,  were  ques- 
tioned by  the  czar,  though  he  did  not  go  so  far  as  to 
torture  them.  Yet  with  all  this  nothing  was  dis- 
covered. There  was  not  a  word  to  connect  Sophia 
with  the  revolt. 


140  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

The  trial  over,  the  executions  began.  Of  the 
prisoners,  some  were  hanged,  some  beheaded,  others 
broken  on  the  wheel.  It  is  said  that  those  beheaded 
were  made  to  kneel  in  rows  of  fifty  before  trunks  of 
trees  laid  on  the  ground,  and  that  Peter  compelled 
his  courtiers  and  nobles  to  act  as  executioners, 
Mentchikof  specially  distinguishing  himself  in  this 
work  of  slaughter.  It  is  even  asserted  that  the  czar 
wielded  the  axe  himself,  though  of  this  there  is  some 
doubt.  The  opinion  grew  among  the  people  that 
neither  Peter  nor  Prince  Eamodanofsky,  his  cruel 
viceroy,  could  sleep  until  they  had  tasted  blood,  and 
a  letter  from  the  prince  contains  the  following  lurid 
sentence:  "Jam  always  washing  myself  in  blood.'' 

The  headless  bodies  of  the  dead  were  left  where 
they  had  fallen.  The  long  Eussian  winter  was  just 
beginning,  and  for  five  months  they  lay  unburied, 
a  frightful  spectacle  for  the  eyes  of  the  citizens  of 
Moscow. 

Of  those  hanged,  nearly  two  hundred  were  left 
depending  from  a  large  square  gallows  in  front  of 
the  cell  of  Sophia  at  the  convent  in  which  she  was 
confined,  and  with  a  horrible  refinement  of  cruelty 
three  of  these  bodies  were  so  placed  as  to  hang  all 
winter  under  her  very  window,  one  of  them  holding 
in  his  hand  a  folded  paper  to  represent  a  petition 
for  her  aid. 

The  six  regiments  of  Strehtz  still  on  the  frontier 
showed  signs  of  a  similar  outbreak,  but  the  news  of 
the  executions  taught  them  that  it  was  safest  to  keep 
quiet.  But  man}^  of  them  were  brought  in  chains 
to  Moscow  and  punished  for  their  intentions.     Yari- 


THE   FALL   OF   THE    STRELITZ.  141 

ous  stories  are  told  of  Peter's  cruelty  in  connection 
with  these  executions.  One  is  that  he  beheaded 
eighty  with  his  own  hand,  Plestchef,  one  of  his 
boyars,  holding  them  by  the  hair.  Another  story, 
told  by  M.  Printz,  the  Prussian  ambassador,  says 
that  at  an  entertainment  given  him  by  the  czar, 
Peter,  when  drunk,  had  twenty  rebels  brought  in 
from  the  prisons,  whom  he  beheaded  in  quick  suc- 
cession, drinking  a  bumper  after  each  blow,  the 
whole  concluding  within  the  hour.  He  even  asked 
the  ambassador  to  try  his  skill  in  the  same  way.  It 
may  be  said  here,  however,  that  these  stories  rest 
upon  very  poor  evidence,  and  that  anecdote-makers 
have  painted  Peter  in  blacker  colors  than  he  de- 
serves. 

In  the  end  the  corps  of  the  Strelitz  was  abolished, 
their  houses  and  lands  in  Moscow  were  taken  from 
the  survivors,  and  all  were  exiled  into  the  country, 
where  they  became  simple  villagers. 


THE  CRUSADE  AGAINST  BEARDS 
AND   CLOAKS. 

The  return  of  Peter  the  Great  from  his  European 
journey  was  marked  by  other  events  than  his  cruel 
revenge  upon  the  rebellious  Strelitz.  That  had  af- 
fected only  a  few  thousand  people ;  the  reforms  he 
sought  to  introduce  affected  the  nation  at  large.  The 
Eussians  were  then  more  Oriental  than  European  in 
style,  wearing  the  long  caftan  or  robe  of  Persia  and 
Turkey,  which  descended  to  their  heels,  while  their 
beards  were  like  those  of  the  patriarchs,  the  man 
deeming  himself  most  in  honor  who  had  the  longest 
and  fullest  crop  of  hair  upon  his  face. 

To  Peter,  fresh  from  the  West,  and  strongly  imbued 
with  European  views,  all  this  was  ridiculous,  if  not 
abominable.  He  determined  to  reform  it  all,  and  at 
once  set  to  work  in  his  impetuous  way,  which  could 
not  brook  a  day's  delay,  to  deprive  the  Eussians  of 
their  beards  and  the  tails  of  their  coats.  He  had 
scarcely  arrived  before  the  boyars  and  leading  citi- 
zens of  Moscow,  who  flocked  to  congratulate  him 
on  his  return,  were  taken  aback  by  the  edict  that 
whiskers  were  condemned,  and  that  the  razor  must 
be  set  at  work  without  delay  upon  their  honorable 
chins. 

This  edict  was  like  a  thunder-clap  from  a  clear  sky. 
The  Eussians  admired  and  revered  their  beards. 
142 


PETER   THE    GREAT. 


THE   CRUSADE   AGAINST   BEARDS   AND   CLOAKS.      143 

They  were  time-honored  and  sacred  in  their  eyes. 
To  lose  them  was  like  losing  their  family  trees  and 
patents  of  nobility.  But  Peter  was  without  rever- 
ence for  the  past,  and  his  word  was  law.  He  had 
ordered  a  mowing  and  reaping  of  hair,  and  the  har- 
vest must  be  made,  or  worse  might  come.  General 
Shein,  commander-in-chief  of  the  army,  was  the  first 
to  yield  to  the  imperative  edict  and  submit  his  vener- 
able beard  to  the  indignity  of  the  razor's  edge.  The 
old  age  seemed  past  and  the  new  age  come  when 
Shein  walked  shamefacedly  into  court  with  a  clean 
chin. 

The  example  thus  set  was  quickly  followed.  Beards 
were  tabooed  within  the  precincts  of  the  court.  All 
shared  the  same  fate,  none  being  left  to  laugh  at 
the  rest.  The  patriarch,  it  is  true,  was  exempted, 
through  awe  for  his  high  office  in  the  Church,  while 
reverence  for  advanced  years  reprieved  Prince  Tcher- 
kasy,  and  Tikhon  Streshnef  was  excused  out  of  honor 
for  his  services  as  guardian  of  the  czaritza.  Every 
one  else  within  the  court  had  to  submit  to  the  razor's 
fatal  edge  or  feel  the  czar's  more  fatal  displeasure, 
and  beards  fell  like  "  autumnal  leaves  that  strow  the 
brooks  in  Yallombrosa." 

An  observer  speaks  as  follows  concerning  a  feast 
given  by  General  Shein :  "  A  crowd  of  boyars,  scribes, 
and  military  officers  almost  incredible  was  assembled 
there,  and  among  them  were  several  common  sailors, 
with  whom  the  czar  repeatedly  mixed,  divided  apples, 
and  even  honored  one  of  them  by  calling  him  his 
brother.  A  salvo  of  twenty-five  guns  marked  each 
toast.    iNor  could  the  irksome  offices  of  the  barber 


144  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

check  the  festivities  of  the  day,  though  it  was  well 
known  he  was  enacting  the  part  of  jester  by  appoint- 
ment at  the  czar's  court.  It  was  of  evil  omen  to 
make  show  of  reluctance  as  the  razor  approached 
the  chin,  and  hesitation  was  to  be  forthwith  punished 
with  a  box  on  the  ears.  In  this  way,  between  mirth 
and  the  wine-cup,  many  were  admonished  by  this 
insane  ridicule  to  abandon  the  olden  guise." 

For  Peter  to  shave  was  easy,  as  he  had  little  beard 
and  a  very  thin  moustache.  But  by  the  old-fashioned 
Russian  of  his  day  the  beard  was  cherished  as  the 
Turk  now  cherishes  his  hirsute  symbol  of  dignity  or 
the  Chinaman  his  long-drawn-out  queue.  Shortly 
after  Peter  came  to  the  throne  the  patriarch  Adrian 
had  delivered  himself  in  words  of  thunder  against 
all  who  were  so  unholy  and  heretical  as  to  cut  or 
shave  their  beards,  a  God-given  ornament,  which  had 
been  worn  by  prophets  and  apostles  and  by  Christ 
himself  Only  heretics,  apostates,  idol-worshippers, 
and  image-breakers  among  monarchs  had  forced 
their  subjects  to  shave,  he  declared,  while  all  the  great 
and  good  emperors  had  indicated  their  piety  in  the 
length  of  their  beards. 

To  Peter,  on  the  contrary,  the  beard  was  the  symbol 
of  barbarity.  He  was  not  content  to  say  that  his 
subjects  might  shave,  he  decreed  that  they  must 
shave.  It  began  half  in  jest,  it  was  continued  in 
solid  earnest.  He  could  not  well  execute  the  non- 
shavers,  or  cut  off  the  heads  of  those  who  declined 
to  cut  off  their  beards,  but  he  could  fine  them,  and  he 
did.  The  order  was  sent  forth  that  all  Russians,  with 
the  exception  of  the  clergy,  should   shave.     Those 


THE   CRUSADE   AGAINST   BEARDS   AND   CLOAKS.       145 

who  preferred  to  keep  their  beards  could  do  so  by- 
paying  a  yearly  tax  into  the  public  treasury.  This 
was  fixed  at  a  kopeck  (one  penny)  for  peasants,  but 
for  the  higher  classes  varied  from  thirty  to  a  hundred 
rubles  (from  sixty  dollars  to  two  hundred  dollars). 
The  merchants,  being  at  once  the  richest  and  most 
conservative  class,  paid  the  highest  tax.  Every  one 
who  paid  the  tax  was  given  a  bronze  token,  which 
had  to  be  worn  about  the  neck  and  renewed  every 
year. 

The  czar  would  allow  no  one  to  be  about  him  who 
did  not  shave,  and  many  submitted  through  "  terror 
of  having  their  beards  (in  a  merry  humor)  pulled 
out  by  the  roots,  or  taken  so  rough  off  that  some 
of  the  skin  went  with  them."  Many  of  those  who 
shaved  continued  to  do  reverence  to  their  beards  by 
carrying  them  within  their  bosoms  as  sacred  objects, 
to  be  buried  in  their  graves,  in  order  that  a  just  ac- 
count might  be  rendered  to  St.  Nicholas  when  they 
should  come  to  the  next  world. 

The  ukase  against  the  beard  was  soon  followed  by 
one  against  the  caftan,  or  long  cloak,  the  old  Eussian 
dress.  The  czar  and  the  leading  officers  of  his  em- 
bassy set  the  example  of  wearing  the  German  dress, 
and  he  cut  off,  with  his  own  hands,  the  long  sleeves 
of  some  of  his  officers..  "  Those  things  are  in  your 
way,"  he  would  say.  "You  are  safe  nowhere  with 
them.  At  one  moment  you  upset  a  glass,  then  you 
forgetfully  dip  them  in  the  sauce.  Get  gaiters  made 
of  them." 

On  January  14,  1700,  a  decree  was  issued  com- 
manding all  courtiers  and  officials   throughout  the 

10 


146  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

empire  to  wear  the  foreign  dress.  This  decree  had 
to  be  frequently  repeated,  and  models  of  the  clothing 
exposed.  It  is  said  that  patterns  of  the  garments 
and  copies  of  the  decrees  were  hung  up  together  at 
the  gates  of  the  towns,  while  all  who  disobej^ed  the 
order  were  compelled  to  pay  a  fine.  Those  who 
yielded  were  obliged  "to  kneel  down  at  the  gates  of 
the  city  and  have  their  coats  cut  off  just  even  with 
the  ground,"  the  part  that  lay  on  the  ground  as  they 
kneeled  being  condemned  to  suffer  b}^  the  shears. 
"  Being  done  with  a  good  humor,  it  occasioned  mirth 
among  the  people,  and  soon  broke  the  custom  of 
their  wearing  long  coats,  especially  in  places  near 
Moscow  and  those  towns  wherever  the  czar  came." 

This  demand  did  not  apply  to  the  peasantry, 
and  was  therefore  more  easily  executed.  Even  the 
women  were  required  to  change  their  Russian  robes 
for  foreign  fashions.  Peter's  sisters  set  the  example, 
which  was  quickly  followed,  the  women  showing 
themselves  much  less  conservative  than  the  men  in 
the  adoption  of  new  styles  of  dress. 

The  reform  did  not  end  here.  Decrees  were  issued 
against  the  high  Russian  boots,  against  the  use  of 
the  Russian  saddle,  and  even  against  the  long  Rus- 
sian knife.  Peter  seemed  to  be  infected  with  a  pas- 
sion for  reform,  and  almost  everything  Russian  was 
ordered  to  give  way  before  the  influx  of  Western 
modes.  Western  ideas  did  not  come  with  them. 
To  change  the  dress  does  not  change  the  thoughts, 
and  it  does  not  civilize  a  man  to  shave  his  chin. 
Though  outwardly  conforming  to  the  advanced  fash- 
ions of  the  West,  inwardly  the  Russians  continued 


THE   CRUSADE  AGAINST   BEARDS   AND   CLOAKS.      147 

to  conform  to  the  unprogressive  conceptions  of  the 
East. 

It  may  be  said  that  these  changes  did  not  come 
to  stay.  They  were  too  revolutionary  to  take  deep 
root.  There  is  no  disputing  the  fact  that  a  coat 
down  to  the  heels  is  more  comfortable  in  a  cold  cli- 
mate than  one  ending  at  the  knees,  and  is  likely  to 
be  worn  in  preference.  Students  in  Eussia  to-day 
wear  the  red  shirt,  the  loose  trousers  tucked  into 
the  high  boots,  and  the  sleeveless  caftan  of  the 
peasant,  to  show  that  they  are  Slavs  in  feeling, 
while  the  old  Eussian  costume  is  the  regulation 
court  dress  for  ladies  on  occasions  of  state. 

We  cannot  here  name  the  host  of  other  reforms 
which  Peter  introduced.  The  army  was  dressed  and 
organized  in  the  fashion  of  the  West.  A  navy  was 
rapidly  built,  and  before  many  years  Eussia  was 
winning  victories  at  sea.  Peter  had  not  worked  at 
Amsterdam  and  Deptford  in  vain.  The  money  of 
the  country  was  reorganized,  and  new  coins  were 
issued.  The  year,  which  had  always  begun  in  Eussia 
on  September  1,  was  now  ordered  to  begin  on  Jan- 
uary 1,  the  first  new  year  on  the  new  system, 
January  1,  1700,  being  introduced  with  impressive 
ceremonies.  Up  to  this  time  the  Eussians  had 
counted  their  year  from  the  supposed  date  of  cre- 
ation. They  were  now  ordered  to  date  their  chro- 
nology from  the  birth  of  Christ,  the  first  year  of  the 
new  era  being  dated  1700  instead  of  7208.  Un- 
luckily, the  Gregorian  calendar  was  not  at  the  same 
time  introduced,  and  Eussia  still  clings  to  the  old 
style,  so  that  each  date  in  that  country  is  twelve 


148  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

days  behind  the  same  date  in  the  rest  of  the  Christian 
world. 

Another  reform  of  an  important  character  was 
introduced.  Peter  had  observed  the  system  of  local 
self-government  in  other  countries,  and  resolved  to 
have  something  like  it  in  his  realm.  In  Little  Eussia 
the  people  already  had  the  right  of  electing  their 
local  officials.  A  similar  system  was  extended  to 
the  whole  empire,  the  merchants  in  the  towns  being 
permitted  to  choose  good  and  honest  men,  who 
formed  a  council  which  had  general  charge  of  mu- 
nicipal affairs.  Where  bribery  and  corruption  were 
discovered  among  these  officials  the  knout  and  exile 
were  applied  as  inducements  to  honesty  in  office. 
Even  death  was  threatened;  yet  bribery  went  on. 
Honesty  in  office  cannot  be  made  to  order,  even  by  a 
czar. 


MAZEPPA,   THE  COSSACK  CHIEF. 

Among  the  romantic  characters  of  history  none 
have  attained  higher  celebrity  than  the  hero  of  our 
present  tale,  whose  remarkable  adventure,  often  told 
in  story,  has  been  made  immortal  in  Lord  Byron's 
famous  poem  of  "  Mazeppa."  Those  who  wish  to 
read  it  in  all  its  dramatic  intensity  must  apply  to  the 
poem.     Here  it  can  only  be  given  in  plain  prose. 

Mazeppa  was  a  scion  of  a  poor  but  noble  Polish 
family,  and  became,  while  quite  young,  a  page  at  the 
court  of  John  Casimir,  King  of  Poland.  There  he  re- 
mained until  he  reached  manhood,  when  he  returned 
to  the  vicinity  of  his  birth.  And  now  occurred  the 
striking  event  on  which  the  fame  of  our  hero  rests. 
The  court-reared  young  man  is  said  to  have  engaged 
in  an  intrigue  with  a  Polish  lady  of  high  rank,  or  at 
least  was  suspected  by  her  jealous  husband  of  having 
injured  him  in  his  honor. 

Bent  upon  a  revenge  suitable  to  the  barbarous 
ideas  of  that  age,  the  furious  nobleman  had  the 
young  man  seized,  cruelly  scourged,  and  in  the  end 
stripped  naked  and  firmly  bound  upon  the  back  of 
an  untamed  horse  of  the  steppes.  The  wild  animal, 
terrified  by  the  Strang©  burden  upon  its  back,  was 
then  set  free  on  the  borders  of  its  native  wilds  of 
the  Ukraine,  and,  uncontrolled  by  bit  or  rein,  gal- 
loped madly  for  miles  upon  miles  through  forest  and 

149 


150  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

over  plain,  until,  exhausted  by  the  violence  of  its 
flight,  it  halted  in  its  wild  career.  For  a  dramatic 
rendering  of  this  frightful  ride  our  readers  must  be 
referred  to  Byron's  glowing  verse. 

The  savage  Polish  lord  had  not  dreamed  that  his 
victim  would  escape  alive,  but  fortune  favored  the 
poor  youth.  He  was  found,  still  fettered  to  the  ani- 
mal's back,  insensible  and  half  dead,  by  some  Cos- 
sack peasants,  who  rescued  him  from  his  fearful  situ- 
ation, took  him  to  their  hut,  and  eventually  restored 
him  to  animation. 

Mazeppa  was  well  educated  and  fully  versed  in 
the  art  of  war  of  that  day.  He  made  his  home  with 
his  new  friends,  to  whom  his  courage,  agility,  and 
sagacity  proved  such  warm  recommendations  that 
he  soon  became  highly  popular  among  the  Cossack 
clans.  He  was  appointed  secretary  and  adjutant  to 
Samilovitch,  the  hetman  or  chief  of  the  Cossacks, 
and  on  the  disgrace  and  exile  of  this  chief  in  1687 
Mazeppa  succeeded  him  as  leader  of  the  tribe.  He 
distinguished  himself  particularly  in  the  war  waged 
by  the  army  of  the  Princess  Sophia  against  the 
Turks  and  Tartars  of  the  Crimea,  in  which  Mazeppa 
led  his  Cossack  followers  with  the  greatest  courage 
and  skill. 

On  the  return  of  the  army  to  Moscow,  Prince  Galit- 
zin,  its  leader,  brought  into  the  capital  a  strong  force 
of  Cossacks,  with  Mazeppa  at  their  head.  It  was  the 
first  time  the  Cossacks  had  been  allowed  to  enter  Mos- 
cow, and  their  presence  gave  great  offence.  It  was 
supposed  to  be  a  part  of  the  plot  of  Sophia  to  dethrone 
her  young  brother  and  seize  the  throne  for  herself. 


151 

It  was  known  that  they  would  execute  to  the  full 
any  orders  given  them  by  their  chief;  but  their  mo- 
tions were  so  restricted  by  the  indignant  people  that 
the  ambitious  woman,  if  she  entertained  such  a 
design,  found  herself  unable  to  employ  them  in  it. 

The  daring  hetman  of  the  Cossacks  became  after- 
wards a  cherished  friend  of  Peter  the  Great,  who 
conferred  on  him  the  title  of  prince,  and  severely 
punished  those  who  accused  him  of  conspiring  with 
the  enemies  of  Eussia.  Having  the  fullest  confidence 
in  his  good  faith,  Peter  banished  or  executed  his  foes 
as  liars  and  traitors.  Yet  they  seem  to  have  been 
the  true  men  and  Mazeppa  the  traitor,  for  at  length, 
when  sixty-four  years  of  age,  he  threw  off  allegiance 
to  Eussia  and  became  an  ally  of  the  Swedish  enemies 
of  the  realm. 

The  fiery  and  ungovernable  temper  of  Peter  is 
said  to  have  been  the  cause  of  this.  The  story  goes 
that  one  day,  when  Mazeppa  was  visiting  the  Eus- 
sian  court,  and  was  at  table  with  the  czar,  Peter 
complained  to  him  of  the  lawless  character  of  the 
Cossacks,  and  proposed  that  Mazeppa  should  seek 
to  bring  them  under  better  control  by  a  system  of 
organization  and  discipline. 

The  chief  replied  that  such  measures  would  never 
succeed.  The  Cossacks  were  so  fierce  and  uncon- 
trollable by  nature,  he  said,  and  so  fixed  in  their  ir- 
regular habits  of  warfare,  that  it  would  be  impos- 
sible to  get  them  to  submit  to  military  discipline, 
and  they  must  continue  to  fight  in  their  old,  wild 
way. 

These  words  were  like  fire  to  flax.     Peter,  who 


152  HISTORICAL  TALES. 

never  could  bear  the  least  opposition  to  any  of  his 
plans  or  projects,  and  was  accustomed  to  have  every- 
body timidly  agree  with  him,  broke  into  a  furious 
rage  at  this  contradiction,  and  visited  his  sudden 
wrath  on  Mazeppa,  as  usual,  in  the  most  violent 
language.  He  was  an  enemy  and  a  traitor,  who 
deserved  to  be  and  should  be  impaled  alive,  roared 
the  furious  czar,  not  meaning  a  tithe  of  what  he  said, 
but  saying  enough  to  turn  the  high-spirited  chief 
from  a  friend  to  a  foe. 

Mazeppa  left  the  czar's  presence  in  deep  offence, 
muttering  the  displeasure  which  it  would  have  been 
death  to  speak  openly,  and  bent  on  revenge.  Soon 
after  he  entered  into  communication  with  Charles 
XII.  of  Sweden,  the  bitter  enemy  of  Eussia,  which  he 
was  then  invading.  He  suggested  that  the  Swedish 
army  should  advance  into  Southern  Eussia,  where 
the  Cossacks  would  be  sure  to  be  sent  to  meet  it. 
He  would  then  go  over  with  all  his  forces  to  the 
Swedish  side,  so  strengthening  it  that  the  army  of  the 
czar  could  not  stand  against  it.  The  King  of  Sweden 
might  retain  the  territory  won  by  his  arms,  while 
the  Cossacks  would  retire  to  their  own  land,  and  be- 
come again,  as  of  old,  an  independent  tribe. 

The  plot  was  well  laid,  but  it  failed  through  the 
loyalty  of  the  Cossacks.  They  broke  into  wild  in- 
dignation when  Mazeppa  unfolded  to  them  his  plan, 
most  of  them  refusing  to  join  in  the  revolt,  and 
threatening  to  seize  him  and  deliver  him,  bound  hand 
and  foot,  to  the  czar.  Some  two  thousand  in  all  ad- 
hered to  Mazeppa,  and  for  a  time  it  seemed  as  if  a 
bloody  battle  would  take  place  between  the  two  sec- 


MAZEPPA,  THE   COSSACK   CHIEF.  153 

tions  of  the  tribe,  but  in  the  end  the  chief  and  his 
followers  made  their  way  to  the  Swedish  camp,  while 
the  others  marched  back  and  put  themselves  under 
the  command  of  the  nearest  Eussian  general. 

Mazeppa  was  now  sentenced  to  death,  and  exe- 
cuted,— luckily  for  him,  in  efSgy  only.  In  person  he 
was  out  of  the  reach  of  his  foes.  A  wooden  image 
was  made  to  represent  the  culprit,  and  on  this  dumb 
block  the  penalties  prescribed  for  him  were  inflicted. 
A  pretty  play — for  a  savage  horde — they  made  of  it. 
The  image  was  dressed  to  imitate  Mazeppa,  while 
representations  of  the  medals,  ribbons,  and  other 
decorations  he  usually  wore  were  placed  upon  it.  It 
was  then  brought  out  before  the  general  and  leading 
officers,  the  soldiers  being  drawn  up  in  a  square 
around  it.  A  herald  now  read  the  sentence  of  con- 
demnation, and  the  mock  execution  began.  First 
Mazeppa's  patent  of  knighthood  was  torn  to  pieces 
and  the  fragments  flung  into  the  air.  Then  the 
medals  and  decorations  were  rent  from  the  image 
and  trampled  underfoot.  Finally  the  image  itself 
was  struck  a  blow  that  toppled  it  over  into  the  dust. 
The  hangman  now  took  it  in  hand,  tied  a  rope  round 
its  neck,  and  dragged  it  to  a  gibbet,  on  which  it  was 
hung.  The  affair  ended  in  the  Cossacks  choosing  a 
new  chief. 

The  remainder  of  Mazeppa's  story  may  soon  be 
told.  The  battle  of  Pultowa,  fought,  it  is  said,  by 
his  advice,  ended  the  military  career  of  the  great 
Swedish  general.  The  Cossack  chief  made  his  es- 
cape, with  the  King  of  Sweden,  into  Turkish  terri- 
tory, and  the  reward  which  the  czar  offered  for  his 


154  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

body,  dead  or  alive,  was  never  claimed.  Mentchikof 
took  what  revenge  he  could  by  capturing  and  sacking 
his  capital  city,  Baturin,  while  throughout  Eussia  his 
name  was  anathematized  from  the  pulpit.  Traitor  in 
his  old  days,  and  a  fugitive  in  a  foreign  land,  the  dis- 
grace of  his  action  seemed  to  weigh  heavily  upon 
the  mind  of  the  old  chief  of  the  Ukraine,  and  in  the 
following  year  he  put  an  end  to  the  wretchedness  of 
his  life  by  poison. 


A   WINDOW  OPEN  TO  EUROPE, 

Peter  the  Great  hated  Moscow.  It  was  to  him. 
the  embodiment  of  that  old  Eussia  which  he  was 
seeking  to  reform  out  of  existence.  Had  he  been  able 
to  work  his  own  will  in  all  things,  he  would  never 
have  set  foot  within  its  walls ;  but  circumstances  are 
stronger  than  men,  even  though  the  latter  be  Eussian 
czars.  In  one  respect  Peter  set  himself  against  cir- 
cumstance, and  built  Eussia  a  capital  in  a  locality 
seemingly  lacking  in  all  natural  adaptation  for  a  city- 

In  the  early  days  of  the  eighteenth  century  his 
armies  captured  a  small  Swedish  fort  on  Lake  Ladoga 
near  the  river  Keva.  The  locality  pleased  him,  and 
he  determined  to  build  on  the  Neva  a  city  which 
should  serve  Eussia  as  a  naval  station  and  commer- 
cial port  in  the  north.  Why  he  selected  this  spot  it 
is  not  easy  to  say.  Better  localities  for  his  purpose 
might  have  been  easily  chosen.  There  was  old  Nov- 
gorod, a  centre  of  commerce  during  many  centuries 
of  the  past,  which  it  would  have  been  a  noble  tribute 
to  ancient  Eussian  history  to  revive.  There  was 
Eiga,  a  city  better  situated  for  the  Baltic  commerce. 
But  Peter  would  have  none  of  these ;  he  wanted  a 
city  of  his  own,  one  that  should  carry  his  name  down 
through  the  ages,  that  should  rival  the  Alexandria  of 
Alexander  the  Great,  and  he  chose  for  it  a  most  in- 
auspicious and  inhospitable  site. 

155 


156  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

The  l^eva,  a  short  but  deep  and  wide  stream, 
whicli  carries  to  the  sea  the  waters  of  the  great 
lakes  Ladoga,  Onega,  and  Ilinen,  breaks  up  near  its 
mouth  and  makes  its  way  into  the  Gulf  of  Finland 
through  numerous  channels,  between  which  lie  a 
series  of  islands.  These  then  bore  Finnish  names 
equivalent  to  Island  of  Hares,  Island  of  Buifaloes, 
and  the  like.  Overgrown  with  thickets,  their  sur- 
faces marshy,  liable  to  annual  overflow,  inhabited 
only  by  a  few  Finnish  fishermen,  who  fled  from  their 
huts  to  the  mainland  when  the  waters  rose,  they 
were  far  from  promising;  yet  these  islands  took 
Peter's  fancy  as  a  suitable  site  for  a  commercial 
port,  and  with  his  usual  impetuosity  he  plunged  into 
the  business  of  making  a  city  to  order. 

In  truth,  he  fell  in  love  with  the  spot,  though  what 
he  saw  in  it  to  admire  is  not  so  clear.  In  summer 
mud  ruled  there  supreme:  the  very  name  l!^eva  is 
Finnish  for  "  mud."  During  four  months  of  the  year 
ice  took  the  place  of  mud,  and  the  islands  and  stream 
were  fettered  fast.  The  country  surrounding  was 
largely  a  desert,  its  barren  plains  alternating  with 
forests  whose  only  inhabitants  were  wolves.  Years 
after  the  city  was  built,  wolves  prowled  into  its 
streets  and  devoured  two  sentries  in  front  of  one  of 
the  government  buildings.  Moscow  lay  four  hun- 
dred miles  away,  and  the  country  between  was  bleak 
and  almost  uninhabited.  Even  to-day  the  traveller 
on  leaving  St.  Petersburg  finds  himself  in  a  desert. 
The  great  plain  over  which  he  passes  spreads  away 
in  every  direction,  not  a  steeple,  not  a  tree,  not  a  man 
or  beast,  visible  upon  its  bare  expanse.     There  is  no 


A  WINDOW  OPEN  TO  EUROPE.         157 

pasturage  nor  farming-land.  Fruits  and  vegetables 
can  scarcely  be  grown ;  corn  must  be  brought  from 
a  distance.  Eye  is  an  article  of  garden  culture  in 
St.  Petersburg,  cabbages  and  turnips  are  its  only 
vegetables,  and  a  beehive  there  is  a  curiosity. 

Yet,  as  has  been  said,  Peter  was  attracted  to  the 
place,  which  in  one  of  his  letters  he  called  his  *•'  para- 
dise." It  may  have  reminded  him  of  Holland, 
the  scene  of  his  nautical  education.  The  locality 
had  a  certain  sacredness  in  Eussian  tradition,  being 
looked  upon  as  the  most  ancient  Eussian  ground. 
By  the  mouth  of  the  Neva  had  passed  Eurik  and 
his  fellows  in  their  journeys  across  the  Varangian 
sea, — their  own  sea.  The  czar  was  willing  to  restore 
to  Sweden  all  his  conquests  in  Livonia  and  Esthonia, 
but  the  Neva  he  would  not  yield.  From  boyhood 
he  had  dreamed  of  giving  Eussia  a  navy  and  opening 
it  up  to  the  world's  commerce,  and  here  was  a  ready 
opening  to  the  waters  of  the  Baltic  and  the  distant 
Atlantic. 

St.  Petersburg  owed  its  origin  to  a  whim ;  but  it 
was  the  whim  of  a  man  whose  will  swayed  the 
movements  of  millions.  He  was  not  even  willing  to 
begin  his  work  on  the  high  ground  of  the  mainland, 
but  chose  the  Island  of  Hares,  the  nearest  of  the 
islands  to  the  gulf.  It  was  a  seaport,  not  a  capital, 
that  he  at  first  had  in  view.  Legend  tells  us  that  he 
snatched  a  halberd  from  one  of  his  soldiers,  cut  with 
it  two  strips  of  turf,  and  laid  them  crosswise,  saying, 
"Here  there  shall  be  a  town."  Then,  dropping  the 
halberd,  he  seized  a  spade  and  began  the  first  em- 
bankment.    As  he  dug,  an  eagle  appeared  and  hov- 


158  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

ered  above  his  head.  Shot  by  one  of  the  men,  it 
fluttered  to  his  feet.  Picking  up  the  wounded  bird, 
he  set  out  in  a  boat  to  explore  tbe  waters  around. 
To  this  event  is  given  the  date  of  May  16,  1703. 

The  city  began  in  a  fortress,  for  tbe  building  of 
which  carpenters  and  masons  were  brought  from 
distant  towns.  The  soldiers  served  as  laborers.  In 
this  labor  tools  were  notable  chiefly  for  their  absence. 
Wheelbarrows  were  unknown  ;  they  are  still  but 
little  used  in  Eussia.  Spades  and  baskets  were 
equally  lacking,  and  the  czar's  impatience  could  not 
wait  for  them  to  be  procured.  The  men  scraped  up 
the  earth  with  their  hands  or  with  sticks  and  carried 
it  in  the  skirts  of  their  caftans  to  the  ramparts. 
The  czar  sent  orders  to  Moscow  that  two  thousand 
of  the  thieves  and  outlaws  destined  for  Siberia  should 
be  despatched  the  next  summer  to  the  Neva. 

The  fort  was  at  first  built  of  wood,  which  was  re- 
placed by  stone  some  years  afterwards.  Logs  served 
for  all  other  structures,  for  no  stone  was  to  be  had. 
Afterwards  every  boat  coming  to  the  town  was  re- 
quired to  bring  a  certain  number  of  stones,  and,  to 
attract  masons  to  the  new  city,  the  building  of  stone 
houses  in  Moscow  or  elsewhere  was  forbidden.  As  for 
the  fortress,  which  was  erected  at  no  small  cost  in  hfo 
and  money,  it  soon  became  useless,  and  to-day  it  only 
protects  the  mint  and  cathedral  of  St.  Petersburg. 

The  new  city  was  named  St.  Petersbui-g,  after  the 
patron  saint  of  its  founder.  While  the  fort  was  in 
process  of  erection  a  church  was  also  built,  dedi- 
cated to  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul.  The  site  of  this 
wooden   edifice  is  now  occupied  by  the  cathedral, 


A  WINDOW  OPEN  TO  EUROPE.         159 

begun  in  1714,  ten  years  later.  As  regarded  a  home 
for  himself,  Peter  was  easily  satisfied.  A  hut  of  logs 
— his  palace  he  called  it — was  built  near  the  fortress, 
fifty-five  feet  long  by  twenty-five  wide,  and  contain- 
ing but  three  rooms.  At  a  later  date,  to  preserve 
this  his  first  place  of  residence  in  his  new  city,  he 
enclosed  it  within  another  building.  Thus  it  still 
remains,  a  place  of  pilgrimage  for  devout  Eussians. 
It  contains  many  relics  of  the  great  czar.  His  bed- 
room is  now  a  chapel. 

Such  a  city,  in  such  a  situation,  should  have  taken 
years  to  build.  Peter  wished  to  have  it  done  in 
months,  and  he  pushed  the  labor  with  httle  regard 
for  its  cost  in  life  and  treasure.  Men  were  brought 
from  all  sections  of  Eussia  and  put  to  work.  Disease 
broke  out  among  them,  engendered  by  the  dampness 
of  the  soil ;  but  the  work  went  on.  Floods  came  and 
covered  the  island,  drowning  some  of  the  sick  in  their 
beds;  but  there  was  no  alleviation.  History  tells  us 
that  Swedish  prisoners  were  employed,  and  that 
they  died  by  thousands.  Death,  in  Peter  s  eyes,  was 
only  an  unpleasant  incident,  and  new  workmen  were 
brought  in  multitudes,  many  of  them  to  perish  in 
their  turn.  It  has  been  said  that  the  building  of  the 
city  cost  two  hundred  thousand  lives.  This  is,  no 
doubt,  an  exaggeration,  but  it  indicates  a  frightful 
mortality.  But  the  feverish  impatience  of  the  czar 
told  in  results,  and  by  1714  the  city  possessed  over 
thirty-four  thousand  buildings,  with  inhabitants  in 
proportion. 

The  floods  came  and  played  their  part  in  the  work 
of  death.     In  that  of  1706,  Peter  measured  water 


160  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

twenty-one  inches  deep  on  the  floor  of  his  hut.  He 
thought  it  "  extremely  amusing"  as  men,  women, 
and  children  were  swept  past  his  windows  on  float- 
ing wreckage  down  the  stream.  What  the  people 
themselves  thought  of  it  history  does  not  say. 

As  yet  Peter  had  no  design  of  making  St.  Peters- 
burg the  capital  of  his  empire.  That  conception 
seems  not  to  have  come  to  him  until  after  the  crush- 
ing defeat  of  the  Swedish  monarch  Charles  XII.  at 
the  battle  of  Pultowa.  And  indeed  it  was  not  until 
1817  that  it  was  made  the  capital.  It  was  the  fifth 
Eussian  capital,  its  predecessors  in  that  honor  having 
been  Novgorod,  Kief,  Yladimir,  and  Moscow. 

To  add  a  commercial  quarter  to  the  new  city, 
Peter  chose  the  island  of  Yasily  Ostrof, — the  Finnish 
"  Island  of  Bufl'aloes,"— where  a  town  was  laid  out 
in  the  Dutch  fashion.  Avith  canals  for  streets.  This 
island  is  still  the  business  centre  of  the  city,  though 
the  canals  have  long  since  disappeared.  The  streets 
of  St.  Petersburg  for  many  years  continued  unpaved, 
notwithstanding  the  marshy  character  of  the  soil, 
and  in  the  early  days  boats  replaced  carriages  for 
travel  and  traflSc. 

The  work  of  building  the  new  capital  was  not  con- 
fined to  the  czar.  The  nobles  were  obliged  to  build 
palaces  in  it, — very  much  to  their  chagrin.  They 
hated  St.  Petersburg  as  cordially  as  Peter  hated 
Moscow.  They  already  had  large  and  elegant  man- 
sions in  the  latter  city,  and  had  little  relish  for  build- 
ing new  ones  in  this  desert  capital,  four  hundred 
miles  to  the  north.  But  the  word  of  the  czar  was 
law,  and  none  dared  say  him  nay.     Every  proprietor 


'jM-^^  \-^' 


SLEIGHING   IN    RUSSIA. 


A  WINDOW  OPEN  TO  EUROPE.         161 

whose  estate  held  five  hundred  serfs  was  ordered  to 
build  a  stone  house  of  two  stories  in  the  new  city. 
Those  of  greater  wealth  had  to  build  more  preten- 
tious edifices.  Peter's  own  taste  in  architecture 
was  not  good.  He  loved  low  and  small  rooms. 
None  of  his  palaces  were  fine  buildings.  In  build- 
ing the  Winter  Palace,  whose  stories  jvere  made  high 
enough  to  conform  to  others  on  the  street,  he  bad 
double  ceilings  put  in  his  special  rooms,  so  as  to  re- 
duce their  height. 

The  city  under  way,  the  question  of  its  defence 
became  prominent.  The  Swedes,  the  mortal  enemies 
of  the  czar,  looked  with  little  favor  on  this  new  pro- 
ject, and  their  prowling  vessels  in  the  gulf  seemed 
to  threaten  it  with  attack.  Peter  made  vigorous 
eff^orts  to  prepare  for  defence.  Ship-building  went  on 
briskly  on  the  Svir  Eiver,  between  Lakes  Ladoga  and 
Onega,  and  the  vessels  were  got  down  as  quickly  as 
possible  into  the  Neva.  Peter  himself  explored  and 
measured  the  depth  of  water  in  the  Gulf  of  Finland. 
Here,  some  twenty  miles  from  the  city,  lay  the  island 
of  Cronslot,  seven  miles  long,  and  in  the  narrowest 
part  of  the  gulf.  The  northern  channel  past  this 
island  proved  too  shallow  to  be  a  source  of  danger. 
The  southern  channel  was  navigable,  and  this  the 
czar  determined  to  fortify. 

A  fort  was  begun  in  the  water  near  the  island's 
shores,  stone  being  sunk  for  its  foundation.  Work 
on  it  was  pressed  with  the  greatest  energy,  for  fear 
of  an  attack  by  the  Swedish  fleet,  and  it  was  com- 
pleted before  the  winter's  end.  With  the  idea  of 
making  this  his  commercial  port,  Peter  had  many 

11 


162  HISTORICAL  TALES. 

stone  warehouses  built  on  the  island,  most  of  which 
soon  fell  into  decay  for  want  of  use.  But  to-day 
Cronstadt,  as  the  new  town  and  fortress  were  called, 
is  the  greatest  naval  station  and  the  most  flourishing 
commercial  city  in  Eussia,  while  its  fortifications 
protect  the  capital  from  any  danger  of  assault. 

In  those  early  days,  however,  St.  Petersburg  was 
designed  to  be  the  centre  of  commerce,  and  Peter 
took  what  means  he  could  to  entice  merchant  vessels 
to  his  new  city.  The  first  to  appear — coming  almost 
by  accident — was  of  Dutch  build.  It  arrived  in 
November,  1703,  and  Peter  himself  served  as  pilot 
to  bring  it  up  to  the  town.  Great  was  the  astonish- 
ment of  the  skipper,  on  being  afterwards  presented 
to  the  czar,  to  recognize  in  him  his  late  pilot.  And 
Peter's  delight  was  equally  great  on  learning  that 
the  ship  had  been  freighted  by  Cornells  Calf,  one  of 
his  old  Zaandam  friends.  The  skipper  was  feasted 
to  his  heart's  content  and  presented  with  five  hun- 
dred ducats,  while  each  sailor  received  thirty  thaler s, 
and  the  ship  was  renamed  the  St.  Petersburg.  Two 
other  ships  appeared  the  same  year,  one  Dutch  and 
one  English,  and  their  skippers  and  crews  received 
the  same  reward.  These  pioneer  vessels  were  ex- 
empted forever  from  all  tolls  and  dues  at  that  port. 

St.  Petersburg,  as  it  exists  to-day,  bears  very  little 
resemblance  to  the  city  of  Peter's  plan.  To  his  suc- 
cessors are  due  the  splendid  granite  quays,  which 
aid  in  keeping  out  the  overflowing  stream,  the  rows 
of  palaces,  the  noble  churches  and  public  buildings, 
the  statues,  columns,  and  other  triumphs  of  archi- 
tecture which  abundantly  adorn  the  great  modern 


A  WINDOW  OPEN  TO  EUROPE.         163 

capital.  The  marshy  island  soil  has  been  lifted  by 
two  centuries  of  accretions,  while  the  main  city  has 
crept  up  from  its  old  location  to  the  mainland,  where 
the  fashionable  quarters  and  the  government  offices 
now  stand. 

St.  Petersburg  is  still  exposed  to  yearly  peril  by 
overflow.  The  violent  autumnal  storms,  driving  the 
waters  of  the  gulf  into  the  channel  of  the  stream, 
back  up  terrible  floods.  The  spriug-time  rise  in  the 
lakes  which  feed  the  Neva  threatens  similar  disaster. 
In  1721  Peter  himself  narrowly  escaped  drowning 
in  the  Nevski  Prospect,  now  the  finest  street  in 
Europe. 

Of  the  floods  that  have  desolated  the  city,  the 
greatest  was  that  of  JSTovember,  1824.  Driven  into 
the  river's  mouth  by  a  furious  southwest  storm,  the 
waters  of  the  gulf  were  heaped  up  to  the  first  stories 
of  the  houses  even  in  the  highest  streets.  Horses 
and  carriages  were  swept  away ;  bridges  were  torn 
loose  and  floated  off;  numbers  of  houses  were  moved 
from  their  foundations ;  a  full  regiment  of  carbi- 
neers, who  had  taken  refuge  on  the  roof  of  their  bar- 
racks, perished  in  the  furious  torrent.  At  Cronstadt 
the  waters  rose  so  high  that  a  hundred-gun  ship  was 
left  stranded  in  the  market-place.  The  czar,  who  had 
just  returned  from  a  long  journey  to  the  east,  found 
himself  made  captive  in  his  own  palace.  Standing 
on  the  balcony  which  looks  up  the  Neva,  surrounded 
by  his  weeping  family,  he  saw  with  deep  dismay 
wrecks  of  every  kind,  bridges  and  merchandise, 
horses  and  cattle,  and  houses  peopled  with  helpless 
inmates,  swept  before  his  eyes  by  the  raging  flood. 


164  HISTORICAL  TALES. 

Boats  were  overturned  and  emptied  their  crews  into 
the  stream.  Some  who  escaped  death  by  drowning 
died  from  the  bitter  cold  as  they  floated  downward 
on  vessels  or  rafts.  It  seemed  almost  as  if  the  whole 
city  would  be  carried  bodily  into  the  gulf 

The  official  reports  of  this  disaster  state  that  forty- 
five  hundred  of  the  people  perished, — probably  not 
half  the  true  figure.  Of  the  houses  that  remained, 
many  were  ruined,  and  thousands  of  poor  wretches 
wandered  homeless  through  the  drenched  streets. 
Such  was  one  example  of  the  inheritance  left  by 
Peter  the  Great  to  the  dwellers  in  his  favorite  city, 
his  "  window  to  Europe,"  as  it  has  been  called. 


FROM  THE  HOVEL  TO  THE 
THRONE. 

The  reign  of  Peter  the  Great  was  signalized  by 
two  notable  instances  of  the  rise  of  persons  from  the 
lowest  to  the  highest  estate,  ability  being  placed 
above  birth  and  talent  preferred  to  noble  descent. 
A  poor  boy,  Mentchikof  by  name,  son  of  a  monas- 
tery laborer,  had  made  his  way  to  Moscow  and  there 
found  employment  with  a  pastry-cook,  who  sent  him 
out  daily  with  a  basket  of  mince  pies,  which  he  was 
to  sell  in  the  streets.  The  boy  was  destitute  of 
education,  but  he  had  inherited  a  musical  voice  and 
a  lively  manner,  which  stood  him  in  good  stead  in 
proclaiming  the  merits  of  his  wares.  He  could  sing 
a  ballad  in  taking  style,  and  became  so  widely  known 
for  his  songs  and  stories  that  he  was  often  Invited 
into  gentlemen's  houses  to  entertain  company.  His 
voice  and  his  wit  ended  in  making  him  a  prince  of 
the  empire,  a  favorite  of  the  czar,  and  in  the  end 
virtually  the  emperor  of  Eussia. 

Being  one  day  in  the  kitchen  of  a  boyar's  house, 
where  dinner  was  being  prepared  for  the  czar, 
who  had  promised  to  dine  there  that  day,  young 
Mentchikof  overheard  the  master  of  the  house  give 
special  directions  to  his  cook  about  a  dish  of  meat 
of  which  he  said  the  czar  was  especially  fond,  and 

166 


166  HISTORICAL  TALES. 

noticed  that  he  furtively  dropped  a  powder  of  some 
kind  into  it,  as  if  by  way  of  spice. 

This  act  seemed  suspicious  to  the  acute  lad. 
Noting  particular!}^  the  composition  of  the  dish,  he 
betook  himself  to  the  street,  where  he  began  again 
to  exalt  the  merits  of  his  pies  and  to  entertain  the 
passers-by  with  ballads.  He  kept  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  boyar's  house  until  the  czar  arrived,  when  he 
raised  his  voice  to  its  highest  pitch  and  began  to 
sing  vociferously.  The  czar,  attracted  b}^  the  boy's 
voice  and  amused  by  his  manner,  called  him  up,  and 
asked  him  if  he  would  sell  his  stock  in  trade,  basket 
and  all. 

"  I  have  orders  only  to  sell  the  pies,"  replied  the 
shrewd  vender :  "  I  cannot  sell  the  basket  without 
asking  my  master's  leave.  But,  as  everything  in 
Eussia  belongs  to  your  majesty,  you  have  only  to  lay 
on  me  your  commands." 

This  answer  so  greatly  pleased  the  czar  that  he 
bade  the  boy  come  with  him  into  the  house  and  wait 
on  him  at  table,  much  to  the  young  pie-vender's 
joy,  as  it  was  just  the  result  for  which  he  had 
hoped.  The  dinner  went  on,  Mentchikof  waiting 
on  the  czar  with  such  skill  as  he  could  command, 
and  watching  eagerly  for  the  approach  of  the  sus- 
pected dish.  At  length  it  was  brought  in  and  placed 
on  the  table  before  the  czar.  The  boy  thereupon 
leaned  forward  and  whispered  in  the  monarch's  ear, 
begging  him  not  to  eat  of  that  dish. 

Surprised  at  this  request,  and  quick  to  suspect 
something  wrong,  the  czar  rose  and  walked  into  an 
adjoining  room,  bidding  the  boy  accompany  him. 


PROM  THE  HOVEL  TO  THE  THRONE.      167 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?"  he  asked.  "  Why  should  I 
not  eat  of  that  particular  dish  ?" 

"  Because  I  am  afraid  it  is  not  all  right,"  answered 
the  boy.  "I  was  in  the  kitchen  while  it  was  being 
prepared,  and  saw  the  boyar,  when  the  cook's  back 
was  turned,  drop  a  powder  into  the  dish.  I  do  not 
know  what  all  this  meant,  but  thought  it  my  duty 
to  put  your  majesty  on  your  guard." 

"  Thanks  for  your  shrewdness,  my  lad,"  said  the 
czar ;  "  I  will  bear  it  in  mind." 

Peter  returned  to  the  table  with  his  wonted  cheer- 
fulness of  countenance,  giving  no  indication  that  he 
had  heard  anything  unusual. 

"  I  should  like  your  majesty  to  try  that  dish,"  said 
the  boyar :  '•  I  fancy  that  you  will  find  it  very 
good." 

"  Come  sit  here  beside  me,"  suggested  Peter.  It 
was  the  custom  at  that  time  in  Moscow  for  the  mas- 
ter of  a  house  to  wait  on  the  table  when  he  enter- 
tained guests. 

Peter  put  some  of  the  questionable  dish  on  a  plate 
and  placed  it  before  his  host. 

"  No  doubt  it  is  good,"  he  said.  "  Try  some  of  it 
yourself  and  set  me  an  example." 

This  request  threw  the  host  into  a  state  of  the 
utmost  confusion,  and  with  trembling  utterance  he 
replied  that  it  was  not  becoming  for  a  servant  to  eat 
with  his  master. 

"  It  is  becoming  to  a  dog,  if  I  wish  it,"  answered 
Peter,  and  he  set  the  plate  on  the  floor  before  a  dog 
which  was  in  the  room. 

In  a  moment  the  brute  had  emptied  the  dish.     But 


168  HISTORICAL  TALES. 

in  a  short  time  the  poor  animal  was  seen  to  be  in 
convulsions,  and  it  soon  fell  dead  before  the  as- 
sembled company. 

"  Is  this  the  dish  you  recommended  so  highly  ?" 
said  Peter,  fixing  a  terrible  look  on  the  shrinking 
boyar.  "  So  I  was  to  take  the  place  of  that  dead 
dog  ?" 

Orders  were  given  to  have  the  animal  opened  and 
examined,  and  the  result  of  the  investigation  proved 
beyond  doubt  that  its  death  was  due  to  poison.  The 
culprit,  however,  escaped  the  terrible  punishment 
which  he  would  have  suffered  at  Peter's  hands  by 
taking  his  own  life.  He  was  found  dead  in  bed  the 
next  morning. 

We  do  not  vouch  for  the  truth  of  this  interest- 
ing story.  Though  told  by  a  writer  of  Peter's  time, 
it  is  doubted  by  late  historians.  But  such  is  the 
fate  of  the  best  stories  afloat,  and  the  voice  of  doubt 
threatens  to  rob  history  of  much  of  its  romance. 
The  story  of  Mentchikof,  in  its  most  usual  shape, 
states  that  Le  Fort,  general  and  admiral,  was  the 
first  to  be  attracted  to  the  sprightly  boy,  and  that 
Peter  saw  him  at  Le  Fort's  house,  was  delighted  with 
him,  and  made  him  his  page. 

The  pastry-cook's  boy  soon  became  the  indispen- 
sable companion  of  the  czar,  assisted  him  in  his 
workshop,  attended  him  in  his  wars,  and  at  the  siege 
of  Azov  displayed  the  greatest  bravery.  He  accom- 
panied Peter  in  his  travels,  worked  with  him  in  Hol- 
land, and  distinguished  himself  in  the  wars  with  the 
Swedes,  receiving  the  order  of  St.  Andrew  for  gal- 
lantry at  the  battle  of  the  Neva.     In  1704  he  was 


FROM  THE  HOVEL  TO  THE  THRONE.      169 

given  the  rank  of  general,  and  was  the  first  to  defeat 
the  Swedes  in  a  pitched  battle.  At  the  czar's  request 
he  was  made  a  prince  of  the  Holy  Eoman  Empire. 

As  Prince  Mentchikof  the  new  grandee  loomed 
high.  His  house  in  Moscow  was  magnificent,  his 
banquets  were  gorgeous  with  gold  and  silver  plate, 
and  the  ambassadors  of  the  powers  of  Europe  fig- 
ured among  his  guests.  Such  was  the  bright  side 
of  the  picture.  The  dark  side  was  one  of  extortion 
and  robbery,  in  which  the  favorite  of  the  czar  out- 
did in  peculation  all  the  other  officials  of  the  realm. 

Peculation  in  Eussia,  indeed,  assumed  enormous 
proportions,  but  this  was  a  crime  towards  which 
Peter  did  not  manifest  his  usual  severity.  Two  of 
the  robbers  in  high  places  were  executed,  but  the 
others  were  let  off  with  fines  and  a  castigation  with 
Peter's  walking-stick,  which  he  was  in  the  habit  of 
using  freely  on  high  and  low  alike.  As  for  Mentchi- 
kof, he  was  incorrigible.  So  high  was  he  in  favor 
with  his  master  that  the  senators,  who  had  abun- 
dant proofs  of  his  robberies  and  little  love  for  him 
personally,  dared  not  openly  accuse  him  before  the 
czar.  The  most  they  ventured  to  do  was  to  draw  up 
a  statement  of  his  peculations  and  lay  the  paper  on 
the  table  at  the  czar's  seat.  Peter  saw  it,  ran  his 
eye  over  its  contents,  but  said  nothing.  Day  after 
day  the  paper  lay  in  the  same  place,  but  the  czar 
continued  silent.  One  day  as  he  sat  in  the  senate,  the 
senator  Tolstoi,  who  sat  beside  him,  was  bold  enough 
to  ask  him  what  he  thought  of  that  document. 

"  I^othing,"  Peter  replied,  "  but  that  Mentchikof 
will  always  be  Mentchikof." 


170  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

The  death  of  Peter  placed  the  favorite  in  a  prcr 
carious  position.  He  had  a  host  of  enemies,  who 
would  have  rejoiced  in  his  downfall.  These,  who 
formed  what  may  be  called  the  Old  Eussian  party, 
wished  to  proclaim  as  monarch  the  grandson  of  the 
deceased  czar.  But  Mentchikof  and  the  party  of 
reform  were  beforehand  with  them,  and  gave  the 
throne  to  Catharine,  the  widow  of  the  late  monarch. 
Under  her  the  pastry-cook's  boy  rose  to  the  summit 
of  his  power  and  virtually  governed  the  country. 
Unluckily  for  the  favorite,  Catharine  died  in  two 
years,  and  a  new  czar,  Peter  II.,  grandson  of  Peter 
the  Great,  came  to  the  throne. 

Mentchikof  had  been  left  guardian  of  the  youth- 
ful czar,  to  whom  his  daughter  was  betrothed,  and 
whom  he  took  to  his  house  and  surrounded  with 
his  creatures.  And  now  for  a  time  the  favorite 
soared  higher  than  ever,  was  practically  lord  of 
the  land,  and  made  himself  more  feared  than  had 
been  Peter  himself 

But  he  had  reached  the  verge  of  a  precipice. 
There  was  no  love  between  the  young  czar  and 
Mary  Mentchikof,  and  the  youthful  prince  was  soon 
brought  to  dislike  his  guardian.  Events  moved  fast. 
Peter  left  Mentchikof  s  house  and  sought  the  summer 
palace,  to  which  his  guardian  was  refused  admittance. 
Soon  after  he  was  arrested,  the  shock  of  the  dis- 
grace bringing  on  an  apoplectic  stroke.  In  vain  he 
appealed  to  the  emperor ;  he  was  ordered  to  retire  to 
his  estate,  and  soon  after  was  banished,  with  his 
whole  family,  to  Siberia.  This  was  in  1727.  The 
disgraced  favorite  survived  his  exile  but  two  years, 


FROM  THE  HOVEL  TO  THE  THRONE.      171 

dying  of  apoplexy  in  1729.  Four  months  afterwards 
the  new  czar  followed  in  death  the  man  he  had  dis- 
graced. 

The  other  instance  of  a  rise  from  low  to  high 
estate  was  that  of  the  empress  herself,  whose  career 
was  very  closely  related  to  that  of  Mentchikof. 
There  are  various  instances  in  history  of  a  woman 
of  low  estate  being  chosen  to  share  a  monarch's 
throne,  but  only  one,  that  of  Catharine  of  Eussia, 
in  which  a  poor  stranger,  taken  from  among  the 
ruins  of  a  plundered  town,  became  eventually  the 
absolute  sovereign  of  that  empire  into  which  she 
had  been  carried  as  captive  or  slave. 

It  was  in  1702,  during  the  sharply  contested  war 
between  Eussia  and  Sweden,  that,  while  Charles 
XII.  of  Sweden  was  making  conquests  in  Poland, 
the  Eussian  army  was  having  similar  success  in 
Livonia  and  Ingria.  Among  the  Eussian  successes 
was  the  capture  of  a  small  town  named  Marienburg, 
which  surrendered  at  discretion,  but  whose  maga- 
zines were  blown  up  by  the  Swedes.  This  behavior 
so  provoked  the  Eussian  general  that  he  gave  orders 
for  the  town  to  be  destroyed  and  all  its  inhabitants 
to  be  carried  off. 

Among  the  prisoners  was  a  girl,  Catharine  by 
name,  a  native  of  Livonia,  who  had  been  left  an 
orphan  at  the  age  of  three  years,  and  had  been 
brought  up  as  a  servant  in  the  family  of  M.  Gluck, 
the  minister  of  the  place.  Such  was  the  humble 
origin  of  the  woman  who  was  to  become  the  wife 
of  Peter  the  Great,  and  afterwards  Catharine  L, 
Empress  of  Eussia. 


172  HISTORICAL  TALES. 

In  1702  Catharine,  then  seventeen  years  of  age, 
married  a  Swedish  dragoon,  one  of  the  garrison  of 
Marienburg.  Her  married  life  was  a  short  one,  her 
husband  being  obliged  to  leave  her  in  two  days  to 
join  his  regiment.  She  never  saw  him  again.  She 
could  neither  read  nor  write,  and,  like  Mentchikof, 
never  learned  those  arts.  She  was,  however,  hand- 
some and  attractive,  delicate  and  well  formed,  and  of 
a  most  excellent  temper,  being  never  known  to  be 
out  of  humor,  while  she  was  obliging  and  civil  to  all, 
and  after  her  exaltation  took  good  care  of  the  family 
of  her  benefactor  Grluck.  As  for  her  first  husband, 
she  sent  him  sums  of  money  until  1705,  when  he  was 
killed  in  battle. 

It  was  a  common  fate  of  prisoners  of  war  then  to 
be  sold  as  slaves  to  the  Turks,  but  the  beauty  of 
Catharine  saved  her  from  this.  After  some  vicis- 
situdes, she  fell  into  the  hands  of  Mentchikof,  at 
whose  quarters  she  was  seen  by  the  czar.  Struck 
by  her  beauty  and  good  sense,  Peter  took  her  to 
his  palace,  where,  finding  in  her  a  warm  appre- 
ciation of  his  plans  of  reform  and  an  admirable 
disposition,  he  made  her  his  own  by  a  private  mar- 
riage. In  1711  this  was  supplemented  by  a  public 
wedding. 

Catharine  was  soon  able  amply  to  reward  the  czar 
for  the  honor  he  had  conferred  upon  her.  He  was 
at  war  with  the  Turks,  and,  through  a  foolish  con- 
tempt for  their  generalship  and  mihtary  skill,  al- 
lowed himself  to  fall  into  a  trap  from  which  there 
seemed  no  escape.  He  found  himself  completely 
surrounded  by  the  enemy  and  cut  off  from  all  sup- 


FROM  THE  HOVEL  TO  THE  THRONE.      173 

plies,  and  it  seemed  as  if  he  would  be  forced  to  sur- 
render with  his  whole  force  to  the  despised  foe. 

From  this  dilemma  Catharine,  who  was  in  the 
camp,  relieved  him.  Collecting  a  large  sum  of 
money  and  presents  of  jewelry,  and  seeking  the 
camp  of  the  enemy,  she  succeeded  in  bribing  the 
Turkish  general,  or  in  some  way  inducing  him  to 
conclude  peace  and  suffer  the  Eussian  army  to 
escape.  Peter  repaid  his  able  wife  by  conferring 
upon  her  the  dignity  of  empress. 

The  death  of  the  czar  was  followed,  as  we  have 
said,  by  the  elevation  of  his  wife  to  the  vacant 
throne,  principally  through  the  aid  of  Mentchikof, 
her  former  lord  and  master,  aided  by  the  effect  of 
her  seemingly  inconsolable  grief  and  the  judicious 
distribution  of  money  and  jewels  as  presents. 

For  two  years  Catharine  and  Mentchikof,  whose 
life  had  begun  in  the  hovel,  and  who  were  now  vir- 
tually together  on  the  throne,  were  the  unquestioned 
autocrats  of  Eussia.  Catharine  had  no  genius  for 
government,  and  left  the  control  of  affairs  to  her 
minister,  who  was  to  all  intents  and  purposes  sov- 
ereign of  Eussia.  The  empress,  meanwhile,  passed 
her  days  in  vice  and  dissipation,  thereby  hastening 
her  end.  She  died  in  1727,  at  the  age  of  about  forty 
years.  In  the  same  year,  as  already  stated,  the  man 
who  had  grown  great  with  her  fell  from  his  high 
estate. 


BUFFOONERIES  OF  THE  RUS- 
SIAN COURT, 

Amid  the  serious  matters  which  present  them- 
selves so  abundantly  in  the  history  of  Eussia,  buf- 
fooneries of  the  coarsest  character  at  times  find 
place.  Numerous  examples  of  this  might  be  drawn 
from  the  reign  of  Peter  the  Great,  whose  idea  of 
humor  was  broad  burlesque,  and  who,  despite  the 
religious  prejudices  of  the  people,  did  not  hesitate  to 
make  the  church  the  subject  of  his  jests.  One  of 
the  broadest  of  these  farces  was  that  known  as 
the  Conclave,  the  purpose  of  which  was  to  burlesque 
the  method  of  conducting  one  of  the  solemn  offices 
of  the  Eoman  Church. 

At  the  court  of  the  czar  was  an  old  man  named 
Sotof,  a  drunkard  of  inimitable  powers  of  imbibi- 
tion, and  long  a  butt  for  the  jests  of  the  court.  He 
had  taught  the  czar  to  write,  a  service  which  he 
deemed  worthy  of  being  rewarded  by  the  highest 
dignities  of  the  empire. 

Peter,  who  dearly  loved  a  practical  joke,  learning 
the  aspirations  of  the  old  sot,  promised  to  confer  on 
him  the  most  eminent  office  in  the  world,  and  ac- 
cordingly appointed  him  Kniaz  Papa,  that  is,  prince- 
pope,  with  a  salary  of  two  thousand  roubles  and  a 
palace  at  St.  Petersburg.  The  exaltation  of  Sotof  to 
this  dignity  was  solemnized  by  a  performance  more 
174 


BUFFOONERIES   OF   THE   RUSSIAN   COURT.  175 

gross  than  ludicrous.  Buffoons  were  chosen  to  lift 
the  new  dignitary  to  his  throne,  and  four  fellows 
who  stammered  with  every  word  delivered  absurd 
addresses  upon  his  exaltation.  The  mock  pope  then 
created  a  number  of  cardinals,  at  whose  head  he 
rode  through  the  streets  in  procession,  his  seat  of 
state  being  a  cask  of  brandy  which  was  carried  on 
a  sledge  drawn  by  four  oxen. 

The  cardinals  followed,  and  after  them  came 
sledges  laden  with  food  and  drink,  while  the  music 
of  the  procession  consisted  of  a  hideous  turmoil  of 
drums,  trumpets,  horns,  fiddles,  and  hautboys,  all 
playing  out  of  time,  mingled  with  the  ear-splitting 
clatter  of  pots  and  pans  vigorously  beaten  by  a 
troop  of  cooks  and  scullions.  ISText  came  a  number 
of  men  dressed  as  Eomish  monks,  each  carrying  a 
bottle  and  a  glass.  In  the  rear  of  the  procession 
marched  the  czar  and  his  courtiers,  Peter  dressed 
as  a  Dutch  skipper,  the  others  wearing  various  comic 
disguises. 

The  place  fixed  for  the  conclave  being  reached,  the 
cardinals  were  led  into  a  long  gallery,  along  which 
had  been  built  a  range  of  closets.  In  each  of  these 
a  cardinal  was  shut  up,  abundantly  provided  with 
food  and  drink.  To  each  of  the  cardinals  two  con- 
clavists were  attached,  whose  duty  it  was  to  ply 
them  with  brandy,  carry  insulting  messages  from 
one  to  another,  and  induce  them,  as  they  grew  tipsy, 
to  bawl  out  all  sorts  of  abuse  of  one  another.  To 
all  this  ribaldry  the  czar  listened  with  delight,  taking 
note  at  the  same  time  of  anything  said  of  which  he 
might  make  future  use  against  the  participants. 


176  HISTORICAL  TALES. 

This  orgy  lasted  three  days  and  three  nights,  the 
cardinals  not  being  released  until  they  had  agreed 
upon  answers  to  a  number  of  ridiculous  questions 
propounded  to  them  by  the  Kniaz  Papa.  Then  the 
doors  were  flung  open,  and  the  pope  and  his  cardi- 
nals were  drawn  home  at  mid-day  dead  drunk  on 
sledges, — that  is,  such  of  them  as  survived,  for  some 
had  actually  drunk  themselves  to  death,  while  others 
never  recovered  from  the  eff'ect  of  their  debauch. 

This  offensive  absurdity  appealed  so  strongly  to 
the  czar's  idea  of  humor  that  he  had  it  three  times 
repeated,  it  growing  more  gross  and  shameless  on 
each  successive  occasion;  and  during  the  last  con- 
clave Peter  indulged  in  such  excesses  that  his  death 
was  hastened  by  their  efl*ects. 

As  for  the  national  church  of  Eussia,  Peter  treated 
it  with  contemptuous  indifference.  The  oflSce  of 
patriarch  becoming  vacant,  he  left  it  unfilled  for 
twenty-one  years,  and  finally,  on  being  implored  by 
a  delegation  from  the  clergy  to  appoint  a  patriarch, 
he  started  up  in  a  furious  passion,  struck  his  breast 
with  his  fist  and  the  table  with  his  cutlass,  and 
roared  out,  "Here,  here  is  your  patriarch!"  He 
then  stamped  angrily  from  the  room,  leaving  the 
prelates  in  a  state  of  utter  dismay. 

Soon  after  he  took  occasion  to  make  the  church 
the  subject  of  a  second  coarse  jest.  Another  buffoon 
of  the  court,  Buturlin  by  name,  was  appointed  Kniaz 
Papa,  and  a  marriage  arranged  between  him  and  the 
widow  of  Sotof,  his  predecessor.  The  bridegroom 
was  eighty- four  years  of  age,  the  bride  nearly  as 
old.     Some  decrepit  old  men  were  chosen  to  play  the 


BUFFOONERIES   OF   THE   RUSSIAN   COURT.  177 

part  of  bridesmaids,  four  stutterers  invited  the  wed- 
ding guests,  while  four  of  the  most  corpulent  fellows 
who  could  be  found  attended  the  procession  as  run- 
ning footmen.  A  sledge  drawn  by  bears  held  the 
orchestra,  their  music  being  accompanied  with  roars 
from  the  animals,  which  were  goaded  with  iron 
spikes.  The  nuptial  benediction  was  given  in  the 
cathedral  by  a  blind  and  deaf  priest,  who  wore  huge 
spectacles.  The  marriage,  the  wedding  feast,  and 
the  remaining  ceremonies  were  all  conducted  in  the 
same  spirit  of  broad  burlesque,  in  which  one  of  the 
sacred  ceremonies  of  the  Eussian  Church  was  grossly 
paraphrased. 

Peter  did  not  confine  himself  to  coarse  jests  in  his 
efforts  to  discredit  the  clergy.  He  took  every  oc- 
casion to  unmask  the  trickery  of  the  priests.  Peters- 
burg, the  new  city  he  was  building,  was  an  object  of 
abhorrence  to  these  superstitious  worthies,  who  de- 
nounced it  as  one  of  the  gates  of  hell,  prophesying 
that  it  would  be  overthrown  by  the  wrath  of  heaven, 
and  fixing  the  date  on  which  this  was  to  occur.  So 
great  was  the  fear  inspired  by  their  prophecies  that 
work  was  suspended  in  spite  of  the  orders  of  the 
terrible  czar. 

To  impress  the  people  with  the  imminency  of  the 
peril,  the  priests  displayed  a  sacred  image  from  whose 
eyes  flowed  miraculous  tears.  It  seemed  to  weep 
over  the  coming  fate  of  the  dwellers  within  the 
doomed  city. 

"  Its  hour  is  at  hand,"  said  the  priests ;  "  it  will 
soon  be  swallowed  up,  with  all  its  inhabitants,  by  a 
tremendous  inundation." 

12 


178  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

When  word  of  this  seeming  miracle  and  of  the 
consternation  which  it  had  produced  was  brought  to 
the  czar,  he  hastened  with  his  usual  impetuosity 
to  the  spot,  bent  on  exposing  the  dangerous  fraud 
which  his  enemies  were  perpetrating.  He  found  the 
weeping  image  surrounded  by  a  multitude  of  super- 
stitious citizens,  who  gazed  with  open-eyed  wonder 
and  reverence  on  the  miraculous  feat. 

Their  horror  was  intense  when  Peter  boldly  ap- 
proached and  examined  the  image.  Petrified  with 
terror,  they  looked  to  see  him  stricken  dead  by  a 
bolt  from  heaven.  But  their  feelings  changed  when 
the  czar,  breaking  open  the  head  of  the  image, 
explained  to  them  the  ingenious  trick  which  the 
priests  had  devised.  The  head  was  found  to  contain 
a  reservoir  of  congealed  oil,  which,  as  it  was  melted 
by  the  heat  of  lighted  tapers  beneath,  flowed  out 
drop  by  drop  through  artfully  provided  holes,  and 
ran  from  the  eyes  like  tears.  On  seeing  this  the 
dismay  of  the  people  turned  to  anger  against  the 
priests,  and  the  building  of  the  city  went  on. 

The  court  fool  was  an  institution  born  in  bar- 
barism, though  it  survived  long  into  the  age  of  civ- 
ilization, having  its  latest  survival  in  Eussia,  the 
last  European  state  to  emerge  from  barbarism.  In 
the  days  of  Peter  the  Great  the  fool  was  a  fixed 
institution  in  Eussia,  though  this  element  of  court 
life  had  long  vanished  from  Western  Europe.  In 
truth,  the  buffoon  flourished  in  Eussia  like  a  green 
bay-tree.  Peter  was  never  satisfied  with  less  than  a 
dozen  of  these  fun-making  worthies,  and  a  private 
family  which  could  not  afford  at  least  one  hired 


BUFFOONERIES   OF   THE   RUSSIAN   COURT.  179 

fool  was  thought  to  be  in  very  straitened  circum- 
stances. 

In  the  reign  of  the  empress  Anne  the  number  of 
court  buffoons  was  reduced  to  six,  but  three  of  the 
six  were  men  of  the  highest  birth.  They  had  been 
degraded  to  this  office  for  some  fault,  and  if  they  re- 
fused to  perform  such  fooleries  as  the  queen  and  her 
courtiers  desired  they  were  whipped  with  rods. 

Among  those  who  suffered  this  indignity  was 
no  less  a  grandee  than  Prince  Galitzin.  He  had 
changed  his  religion,  and  for  this  offence  he  was 
made  court  page,  though  he  was  over  forty  years  of 
age,  and  buffoon,  though  his  son  was  a  lieutenant 
in  the  army,  and  his  family  one  of  the  first  in  the 
realm.  His  name  is  here  given  in  particular  as  he 
was  made  the  subject  of  a  cruel  jest,  which  could 
have  been  perpetrated  nowhere  but  in  the  Eussian 
court  at  that  period. 

The  winter  of  1740,  in  which  this  event  took 
place,  was  of  unusual  severity.  Prince  Galitzin's 
wife  having  died,  the  empress  forced  him  to  marry 
a  girl  of  the  lowest  birth,  agreeing  to  defray  the 
cost  of  the  wedding,  which  proved  to  bo  by  no  means 
small. 

As  a  preliminary  a  house  was  built  wholly  of  ice, 
and  all  its  furniture,  tables,  seats,  ornaments,  and 
even  the  nuptial  bedstead,  were  made  of  the  same 
frigid  material.  In  front  of  the  house  were  placed 
four  cannons  and  two  mortars  of  ice,  so  solid  in  con- 
struction that  they  were  fired  several  times  with- 
out bursting.  To  make  up  the  wedding  procession 
persons  of  all  the  nations  subject  to  Eussia,  and  of 


180  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

both  sexes,  were  brought  from  the  several  provinces, 
dressed  in  their  national  costumes. 

The  procession  was  an  extraordinary  one.  The 
new-married  couple  rode  on  the  back  of  an  elephant, 
in  a  huge  cage.  Of  those  that  followed  some  were 
mounted  on  camels,  some  rode  in  sledges  drawn  by- 
various  beasts,  such  as  reindeer,  oxen,  dogs,  goats, 
and  hogs.  The  train,  which  all  Moscow  turned  out 
to  witness,  embraced  more  than  three  hundred  per- 
sons, and  made  its  way  past  the  palace  of  the  em- 
press and  through  all  the  principal  streets  of  the 
city. 

The  wedding  dinner  was  given  in  Biren's  riding- 
house,  which  was  appropriately  decorated,  and  in 
which  each  group  of  the  guests  were  supplied  with 
food  cooked  after  the  manner  of  their  own  country. 
A  ball  followed,  in  which  the  people  of  each  nation 
danced  their  national  dances  to  their  national  music. 
The  pith  of  the  joke,  in  the  Eussian  appreciation 
of  that  day,  came  at  the  end,  the  bride  and  groom 
being  conducted  to  a  bed  of  ice  in  an  icy  palace,  in 
which  they  were  forced  to  spend  the  night,  guards 
being  stationed  at  the  door  to  prevent  their  getting 
out  before  morning. 

Though  not  so  gross  as  Peter's  nuptial  jests,  this 
was  more  cruel,  and,  in  view  of  the  social  station  of 
the  groom,  a  far  greater  indignity. 

A  Eussian  state  dinner  during  the  reign  of  Peter 
the  Great,  as  described  by  Dr.  Birch,  speaking  from 
personal  observation,  was  one  in  which  only  those  of 
the  strongest  stomach  could  safely  take  part.  On 
such  occasions,  indeed,  the  experienced  ate  their  din- 


BUFFOONERIES   OF   THE   RUSSIAN   COURT.  181 

ners  beforehand  at  home,  knowing  well  what  to  ex- 
pect at  the  czar's  table.  Ceremony  was  absolutely 
lacking,  and,  as  two  or  three  hundred  persons  were 
usually  invited  to  a  feast  set  for  a  hundred,  a  most 
undignified  scuffling  for  seats  took  place,  each  holder 
of  a  chair  being  forced  to  struggle  with  those  who 
sought  to  snatch  it  from  him.  In  this  turmoil  dis- 
tinguished foreigners  had  to  fight  like  the  natives  for 
their  seats. 

Finally  they  took  their  places  without  regard  to 
dignity  or  station.  '•  Carpenters  and  shipwrights  sit 
next  to  the  czar;  but  senators,  ministers,  generals, 
priests,  sailors,  buifoons  of  all  kinds,  sit  pell-mell, 
without  any  distinction."  And  they  were  crowded 
so  closely  that  it  was  with  great  difficulty  they  could 
lift  their  hands  to  their  mouths.  As  for  foreigners, 
if  they  happened  to  sit  between  Eussians,  they  were 
little  likely  to  have  any  appetite  to  eat.  All  this 
Peter  encouraged,  on  the  plea  that  ceremony  would 
produce  uneasiness  and  stiffness. 

There  was  usually  but  one  napkin  for  two  or  three 
guests,  which  they  fought  for  as  they  had  for  seats ; 
while  each  person  had  but  one  plate  during  dinner, 
"  so  if  some  Eussian  does  not  care  to  mix  the  sauces 
of  the  different  dishes  together,  he  pours  the  soup 
that  is  left  in  his  plate  either  into  the  dish  or  into 
his  neighbor's  plate,  or  even  under  the  table,  after 
which  he  licks  his  plate  clean  with  his  finger,  and, 
last  of  all,  wipes  it  with  the  table-cloth." 

Liquids  seem  to  have  played  as  important  a  part  as 
solids  at  these  meals,  each  guest  being  obliged  to  be- 
gin with  a  cup  of  brandy,  after  which  great  glasses 


182  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

of  wine  were  served,  "  and  betweenwhiles  a  bumper 
of  the  strongest  English  beer,  by  which  mixture  of 
liquors  every  one  of  the  guests  is  fuddled  before  the 
soup  is  served  up."  And  this  was  not  confined  to 
the  men,  the  women  being  obliged  to  take  their  share 
in  the  liberal  potations.  As  for  the  music  that  played 
in  the  adjoining  room,  it  was  utterly  drowned  in  the 
noise  around  the  table,  the  uproar  being  occasionally 
increased  by  a  fighting-bout  between  two  drunken 
guests,  which  the  czar,  instead  of  stopping,  wit- 
nessed with  glee. 

We  may  close  with  a  final  quotation  from  Dr. 
Birch.  "  At  great  entertainments  it  frequently  hap- 
pens that  nobod}^  is  allowed  to  go  out  of  the  room 
from  noon  till  midnight ;  hence  it  is  easy  to  imagine 
what  pickle  a  room  must  be  in  that  is  full  of  people 
who  drink  like  beasts,  and  none  of  whom  escape 
being  dead  drunk. 

"  They  often  tie  eight  or  ten  young  mice  in  a 
string,  and  hide  them  under  green  peas,  or  in  such 
soups  as  the  Russians  have  the  greatest  appetites 
to,  which  sets  them  a  kicking  and  vomiting  in  a 
most  beastly  manner  when  they  come  to  the  bottom 
and  discover  the  trick.  They  often  bake  cats,  wolves, 
ravens,  and  the  like  in  their  pastries,  and  when  the 
company  have  eaten  them  up,  they  tell  them  what 
they  have  in  their  stomachs. 

"  The  present  butler  is  one  of  the  czar's  buffoons, 
to  whom  he  has  given  the  name  of  Wiaschi,  with 
this  privilege,  that  if  any  one  calls  him  by  that  name 
he  has  leave  to  drub  him  with  his  wooden  sword. 
If,  therefore,  anybody,  by  the  czar's  setting  them 


BUFFOONERIES  OF  THE   RUSSIAN   COURT.  18^ 

on,  calls  out  WiascM,  as  the  fellow  does  not  know 
exactly  who  it  is,  he  falls  to  beating  them  all  around, 
beginning  with  prince  Mentchikof  and  ending  with 
the  last  of  the  company,  without  excepting  even  the 
ladies,  whom  he  strips  of  their  head  clothes,  as  he 
does  the  old  Eussians  of  their  wigs,  which  he  tram- 
ples upon,  on  which  occasion  it  is  pleasant  enough  to 
see  the  variety  of  their  bald  pates." 

On  reading  this  account  of  a  Eussian  court  enter- 
tainment two  centuries  ago,  we  cannot  wonder  that 
after  the  visit  of  Peter  the  Great  and  his  suite  to 
London  it  was  suggested  that  the  easiest  way  to 
cleanse  the  palace  in  which  they  had  been  enter- 
tained might  be  to  set  it  on  fire  and  burn  it  to  the 
ground. 


HOW  A   WOMAN  DETHRONED  A 
MAN. 

We  have  told  how  one  Catharine,  of  lowly  birth 
and  the  captive  of  a  warlike  raid,  rose  to  be  Empress 
of  Eussia.  We  have  now  to  tell  how  a  second  of  the 
same  name  rose  to  the  same  dignity.  This  one  was 
indeed  a  princess  by  descent,  her  birthplace  being  a 
little  German  town.  But  if  she  began  upon  a  higher 
level  than  the  former  Catharine,  she  reached  a  higher 
level  still,  this  insignificant  German  princess  be- 
coming known  in  history  as  Catharine  the  Great, 
and  having  the  high  distinction  of  being  the  only 
woman  to  whose  name  the  title  Great  has  ever  been 
attached.  We  may  here  say,  however,  that  many 
women  have  lived  to  whom  it  might  have  been  more 
properly  applied. 

In  1744  this  daughter  of  one  of  the  innumerable 
German  kinglings  became  Grand  Duchess  of  Eussia, 
through  marriage  with  Peter,  the  coming  heir  to  the 
throne.  We  may  here  step  from  the  beaten  track 
of  our  story  to  say  that  Eussia,  at  this  period  of  its 
history,  was  ruled  over  by  a  number  of  empresses, 
though  at  no  other  time  have  women  occupied  its 
throne.  The  line  began  with  Sophia,  sister  of  Peter 
the  Great,  who  reigned  for  some  years  as  virtual 
empress.  Catharine,  the  wife  of  Peter,  became  actual 
empress,  and  was  followed,  with  insignificant  inter- 
184 


HOW   A   WOMAN   DETHRONED   A   MAN.  185 

vals  of  male  rulers,  by  Anne,  Elizabeth,  and  Catharine 
the  Great.  These  male  rulers  were  Peter  II.,  whose 
reign  was  brief,  Ivan,  an  infant,  and  Peter  III.,  hus- 
band of  Catharine,  who  succeeded  Elizabeth  in  1762. 
It  is  with  the  last  named  that  we  are  concerned. 

Peter  III.,  though  grandson  of  Peter  the  Great, 
was  as  weak  a  man  as  ever  sat  on  a  throne ;  Catha- 
rine a  woman  of  unusual  energy.  For  years  of  their 
married  life  these  two  had  been  enemies.  Peter 
had  the  misfortune  to  have  been  born  a  fool,  and 
folly  on  the  throne  is  apt  to  make  a  sorry  show. 
He  had,  besides,  become  a  drunkard  and  profligate. 
The  one  good  point  about  him,  in  the  estimation  of 
many,  was  his  admiration  for  Frederick  the  Great, 
since  he  came  to  the  throne  of  Russia  at  the  crisis 
of  Frederick's  career,  and  saved  him  from  utter 
ruin  by  withdrawing  the  Russian  army  from  his 
opponents. 

His  folly  soon  raised  up  against  him  two  power- 
ful enemies.  One  of  these  was  the  army,  which  did 
not  object,  after  fighting  with  the  Austrians  against 
the  Prussians,  to  turn  and  fight  with  the  Prussians 
against  the  Austrians,  but  did  object  to  the  Prussian 
dress  and  discipline,  which  Peter  insisted  upon  intro- 
ducing. It  possessed  a  discipline  of  its  own,  which 
it  preferred  to  keep,  and  bitterly  disliked  its  change 
of  dress.  The  czar  even  spoke  of  suppressing  the 
Guards,  as  his  grandfather  had  suppressed  the  corps 
of  the  Strelitz.  This  was  a  fatal  offence.  It  made 
this  strong  force  his  enemy,  while  he  was  utterly 
lacking  in  the  resolution  with  which  Peter  the  Great 
had  handled  rebels  in  arms. 


186  HISTORICAL  TALES. 

The  other  enemy  was  Catharine,  whom  he  had 
deserted  for  an  unworthy  favorite.  But  her  enmity 
was  quiet,  and  might  have  remained  so  had  he  not 
added  insult  to  injury.  Heated  by  drink,  he  called 
her  a  "  fool"  at  a  public  dinner  before  four  hundred 
people,  including  the  greatest  dignitaries  of  the  realm 
and  the  foreign  ministers.  He  was  not  satisfied  with 
an  insult,  but  added  to  it  the  folly  of  .a  threat,  that 
of  an  order  for  her  arrest.  This  he  withdrew, — a 
worse  fault,  under  the  circumstances,  than  to  have 
made  it.  He  had  taught  Catharine  that  her  only 
safety  lay  in  action,  if  she  would  not  be  removed 
from  the  throne  in  favor  of  the  worthless  creature 
who  had  supplanted  her  in  her  husband's  esteem. 

Events  moved  rapidly.  It  was  on  the  2l8t  of  June, 
1762,  that  the  insult  was  given  and  the  threat  made. 
Within  a  month  the  czar  was  dead  and  his  wife  reigned 
in  his  stead.  On  the  24th  Peter  left  St.  Petersburg 
for  Oranienbaum,  his  summer  residence.  He  did  not 
propose  to  remain  there  long.  He  had  it  in  view  to 
join  his  army  and  defeat  the  Danes,  his  present  foes, 
with  the  less  defined  intention  of  gaining  glory  on 
some  great  battle-field  at  the  side  of  his  victorious 
ally  Frederick  the  Grreat.  The  fleet  with  which  Den- 
mark was  to  be  invaded  was  not  ready  to  sail,  many 
of  the  crew  being  sick ;  but  this  little  difficulty  did 
not  deter  the  czar.  He  issued  an  imperial  ukase 
ordering  the  sick  sailors  to  get  well. 

On  going  to  his  summer  residence  Peter  had  im- 
prudently left  Catharine  at  St.  Petersburg,  taking 
his  mistress  in  her  stead.  On  the  29th  his  wife  re- 
ceived orders  from  him  to  go  to  Peterhof.     Thither 


HOW   A   WOMAN   DETHRONED   A   MAN.  187 

he  meant  to  proceed  before  setting  out  on  his  cam- 
paign. His  feast-day  came  on  the  10th  of  July.  On 
the  morning  of  the  9th  he  set  out  with  a  large  train 
of  followers  for  the  palace  of  Peterhof,  where  the 
next  day  Catharine  was  to  give  a  grand  dinner  in  his 
honor. 

It  was  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  when  Peterhof 
was  reached.  To  the  utter  surprise  of  the  czar,  there 
were  none  but  servants  to  meet  him,  and  they  in  a 
state  of  mortal  terror. 

"  Where  is  the  empress  ?"  he  demanded. 

"  Gone." 

"Where?" 

No  one  could  tell  bim.  She  had  simply  gone, — 
where  and  why  he  was  soon  to  learn.  As  he  waited 
and  fumed,  a  peasant  approached  and  handed  him  a 
letter,  which  proved  to  be  from  Bressau,  his  former 
French  valet.  It  contained  the  astounding  informa- 
tion that  the  empress  had  arrived  in  St.  Petersburg 
that  morning  and  had  been  proclaimed  sole  and  abso- 
lute sovereign  of  Russia. 

The  tale  was  beyond  his  powers  of  belief.  Like  a 
madman  he  rushed  through  the  empty  rooms,  making 
them  resound  with  vociferous  demands  for  his  wife ; 
looked  in  every  corner  and  cupboard ;  rushed  wildly 
through  the  gardens,  calling  for  Catharine  again  and 
again ;  while  the  crowd  of  frightened  courtiers  fol- 
lowed in  his  steps.  It  was  in  vain ;  no  voice  came  in 
answer  to  his  demand,  no  Catharine  was  to  be  found. 

The  story  of  what  had  actually  happened  is  none 
too  well  known.  It  has  been  told  in  more  shapes 
than  one.     What  we  know  is  that  there  was  a  con- 


188  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

spiracy  to  place  Catharine  on  the  throne,  that  the 
leaders  of  the  troops  had  been  tampered  with,  and 
that  one  of  the  conspirators,  Captain  Passek,  had 
just  been  arrested  by  order  of  the  czar.  It  was  this 
arrest  that  precipitated  the  revolution.  Fearing  that 
all  was  discovered,  the  plotters  took  the  only  available 
means  to  save  themselves. 

The  arrest  of  Passek  had  nothing  to  do  with  the 
conspiracy.  It  was  for  quite  another  cause.  But  it 
proved  to  be  an  accident  with  great  results,  since  the 
Orlofs,  who  were  deep  in  the  conspiracy,  thought  that 
their  lives  were  in  danger,  and  that  safety  lay  only  in 
prompt  action.  As  a  result,  at  five  a.m.  on  July  9, 
Alexis  Orlof  suddenly  appeared  at  Peterhof,  and  de- 
manded to  see  the  empress  at  once. 

Catharine  was  fast  asleep  when  the  young  officer 
hastily  entered  her  room.  He  lost  no  time  in  waking 
her.     She  gazed  on  him  with  surprise  and  alarm. 

"  It  is  time  to  get  up,"  he  said,  in  as  calm  a  tone  as 
if  he  had  been  announcing  that  breakfast  was  wait- 
ing.    "  Everything  is  ready  for  your  proclamation." 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?"  she  demanded. 

"  Passek  is  arrested.  You  must  come,"  he  said,  in 
the  same  tone. 

This  was  enough.  A  long  perspective  of  peril  lay 
behind  those  words.  The  empress  arose,  dressed  in 
all  haste,  and  sprang  into  the  coach  beside  which 
Orlof  awaited  her.  One  of  her  women  entered  with 
her,  Orlof  seated  himself  in  front,  a  groom  sprang 
up  behind,  and  off  they  set,  at  headlong  speed,  for 
St.  Petersburg. 

The  distance  was  nearly  twenty  miles,  and  the 


HOW   A   WOMAN   DETHRONED   A   MAN.  189 

horses,  which  had  already  covered  that  distance,  were 
in  very  poor  condition  for  doubling  it  without  rest. 
In  his  haste  Orlof  had  not  thought  of  ordering  a 
relay.  His  carelessness  might  have  cost  them  dear, 
since  it  was  of  vital  moment  to  reach  the  city  with- 
out delay.  Fortunately,  they  met  a  peasant,  and 
borrowed  two  horses  from  his  cart.  Those  two 
horses  perhaps  won  the  throne  for  Catharine. 

Five  miles  from  the  city  they  met  two  others  of 
the  conspirators,  devoured  with  anxiety.  Changing 
to  the  new  coach,  the  party  drove  in  at  breakneck 
pace,  and  halted  before  the  barracks  of  the  Ismail- 
ofsky  regiment,  with  which  the  conspirators  had 
been  at  work. 

It  was  between  six  and  seven  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing. Only  a  dozen  men  were  at  the  barracks. 
Nothing  had  been  prepared.  Excitement  or  terror 
had  turned  all  heads.  Yet  now  no  time  was  lost. 
Drummers  were  roused  and  drums  beaten.  Out 
came  soldiers  in  haste,  half  dressed  and  half  asleep. 

"  Shout  '  Long  live  the  empress !'  "  demanded  the 
visitors. 

Without  hesitation  the  guardsmen  obeyed,  their 
only  thought  at  the  moment  being  that  of  a  free  flow 
of  vodka,  the  Eussian  drink.  A  priest  was  quickly 
brought,  who,  like  the  soldiers,  was  prepared  to  do 
as  he  was  told.  Eaising  the  cross,  he  hastily  offered 
them  a  form  of  oath,  to  which  the  soldiers  sub- 
scribed. The  first  step  was  taken ;  the  empress  was 
proclaimed. 

The  proclamation  declared  Catharine  sole  and  ab- 
solute sovereign.     It  made  no  mention  of  her  little 


190  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

son  Paul,  as  some  of  the  leaders  in  the  conspiracy 
had  proposed.  The  Orlofs  controlled  the  situation, 
and  the  action  of  the  Ismailofsky  was  soon  sanc- 
tioned by  other  regiments  of  the  guard.  They 
hated  the  czar  and  were  ripe  for  revolt. 

One  regiment  only,  the  Preobrajensky,  that  of 
which  the  czar  himself  was  colonel,  resisted.  It  was 
led  against  the  other  troops  under  the  command  of 
a  captain  and  a  major.  The  hostile  bodies  came  face 
to  face  a  few  paces  apart ;  the  queen's  party  greatest 
in  number,  but  in  disorder,  the  czar's  party  drawn 
up  with  military  skill.  A  moment,  a  word,  might 
precipitate  a  bloody  conflict. 

Suddenly  a  man  in  the  ranks  cried  out,  "  Oura! 
Long  live  the  empress !"  In  an  instant  the  whole 
regiment  echoed  the  cry,  the  ranks  were  broken,  the 
soldiers  embraced  their  comrades  in  the  other  ranks, 
and,  falling  on  their  knees,  begged  pardon  of  the 
empress  for  their  delay. 

And  now  the  throng  turned  towards  the  neigh- 
boring church  of  Our  Lady  of  Kasan,  in  which 
Catharine  was  to  receive  their  oaths  of  fidelity.  A 
crowd  pushed  in  to  do  homage,  composed  not  only 
of  soldiers,  but  of  members  of  the  senate  and  the 
synod.  A  manifesto  was  quickly  drawn  up  by  a 
clerk  named  Tieplof,  printed  in  all  haste,  and  dis- 
tributed to  the  people,  who  read  it  and  joined  heartily 
in  the  cry  of  "  Long  live  the  empress !" 

Catharine  next  reviewed  the  troops,  who  again 
hailed  her  with  shouts.  And  thus  it  was  that  a  czar 
was  dethroned  and  a  new  reign  begun  without  the  loss 
of  a  drop  of  blood.     There  was  some  little  disorder. 


HOW   A   WOMAN   DETHRONED   A   MAN.  191 

Several  wine-shops  were  broken  into,  the  house  of 
Prince  George  of  Holstein  was  pillaged  and  he  and 
his  wife  were  roughly  handled,  but  that  was  all :  as 
yet  it  had  been  one  of  the  simplest  of  revolutions. 

Catharine  was  empress,  but  how  long  would  she 
remain  so?  Her  empire  consisted  of  the  fickle 
people  of  St.  Petersburg,  her  army  of  four  regiments 
of  the  guards.  If  Peter  had  the  courage  to  strike 
for  his  throne,  he  might  readily  regain  it.  He  had 
with  him  about  fifteen  hundred  Holsteiners,  an  ex- 
cellent body  of  troops,  on  whose  loyalty  he  could 
fully  rely,  for  they  were  foreigners  in  Eussia,  and 
their  safety  depended  on  him.  At  the  head  of  these 
troops  was  one  of  the  first  soldiers  of  the  age,  Field- 
Marshal  Miinich.  The  main  Kussian  army  was  in 
Pomerania,  under  the  orders  of  the  czar,  if  he  were 
alert  in  giving  them.  He  had  it  in  view  to  anni- 
hilate the  Danes,  to  show  himself  a  hero  under 
Frederick  of  Prussia ;  surely  a  handful  of  conspira- 
tors and  a  few  regiments  of  malcontents  would  have 
but  a  shallow  chance. 

Yet  Catharine  knew  the  man  with  whom  she 
dealt.  The  grain  of  courage  which  would  have 
saved  Peter  was  not  to  be  found  in  his  make-up,  and 
Munich  strove  in  vain  to  induce  him  to  act  with 
manly  resolution.  A  dozen  fancies  passed  through 
his  mind  in  an  hour.  He  drew  up  manifestoes  for  a 
paper  campaign.  He  sent  to  Oranienbaum  for  the 
Holstein  troops,  intending  to  fortify  Peterhof,  but 
changed  his  mind  before  they  arrived. 

Miinich  now  advised  him  to  go  to  Cronstadt  and 
secure  himself  in  that  stronghold.     After  some  hesi- 


192  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

tation  he  agreed,  but  night  had  fallen  before  the 
whole  party,  male  and  female,  set  off  in  a  yacht  and 
galley,  as  if  on  a  pleasure-trip.  It  was  one  o'clock 
in  the  morning  when  they  arrived  in  sight  of  the 
fortress. 

"Who  goes  there?"  hailed  a  sentinel  from  the 
ramparts. 

"  The  emperor." 

"  There  is  no  emperor.     Keep  off!" 

Delay  had  given  Catharine  ample  time  to  get 
ahead  of  him. 

"Do  not  heed  the  sentry,"  cried  Miinich.  "They 
will  not  dare  to  fire  on  you.  Land,  and  all  will  be 
safe." 

But  Peter  was  below  deck,  in  a  panic  of  fear.  The 
women  were  shrieking  in  terror.  Despite  Munich,  the 
vessels  were  put  about.  Then  the  old  soldier,  half  in 
despair  at  this  poltroonery,  proposed  another  plan. 

"  Let  us  go  to  Eevel,  embark  on  a  war-ship,  and 
proceed  to  Pomerania.  There  you  can  take  com- 
mand of  the  army.  Do  this,  sire,  and  within  six 
weeks  St.  Petersburg  and  Eussia  will  be  at  your  feet. 
I  will  answer  for  this  with  my  head." 

But  Peter  was  hopelessly  incompetent  to  act.  He 
would  go  back  to  Oranienbaum.  He  would  nego- 
tiate. He  arrived  there  to  learn  that  Catharine  was 
marching  on  him  at  the  head  of  her  regiments.  On 
she  came,  her  cap  crowned  with  oak  leaves,  her  hair 
floating  in  the  wind.  The  soldiers  had  thrown  off 
their  Prussian  uniforms  and  were  dressed  in  their 
old  garb.  They  were  eager  to  fight  the  Holstein 
foreigners. 


HOW  A   WOMAN   DETHRONED   A   MAN.  193 

No  opportunity  came  for  this.  A  messenger  met 
them  with  a  flag  of  truce.  Peter  had  sent  an  offer 
to  divide  the  power  with  Catharine.  Eeceiving  no 
answer,  in  an  hour  he  sent  an  offer  to  abdicate.  He 
was  brought  to  Peterhof,  where  Catharine  had  halted, 
and  where  he  cried  like  a  whipped  child  on  receiving 
the  orders  of  the  new  empress  and  being  forcibly 
separated  from  the  woman  who  had  ruined  him. 

A  day  had  changed  the  fate  of  an  empire.  Within 
little  more  than  six  months  from  his  accession  the 
czar  had  been  hurled  from  his  throne  and  his  wife 
had  taken  his  place.  Peter  was  sent  under  guard  to 
Eopcha,  a  lonely  spot  about  twenty  miles  away, 
there  to  stay  until  accommodations  could  be  pre- 
pared for  him  in  the  strong  fortress  of  Schltissel- 
burg. 

He  was  never  to  reach  the  latter  place.  He  had 
abdicated  on  July  14.  On  July  18  Alexis  Orlof, 
covered  with  sweat  and  dust,  burst  into  the  dressing- 
room  of  the  empress.  He  had  a  startling  story  to 
tell.  He  had  ridden  full  speed  from  Eopcha  with 
the  news  of  the  death  of  Peter  III. 

The  story  was  that  the  czar  had  been  found  dead 
in  his  room.  That  was  doubtless  the  case,  but  that 
he  had  been  murdered  no  one  had  a  shadow  of  doubt. 
Yet  no  one  knew,  and  no  one  knows  to  this  day,  just 
what  had  taken  place.  Stories  of  his  having  been 
poisoned  and  strangled  have  been  told,  not  without 
warrant.  A  detailed  account  is  given  of  poison  being 
forced  upon  him  by  the  Orlofs,  who  are  said  to  have, 
on  the  poison  failing  to  act,  strangled  him  in  a  re- 
volting manner  by  their  own  hands.     Though  this 

13 


194  HISTORICAL  TALES. 

story  lacks  proof,  the  body  was  quite  black.  "  Blood 
oozed  through  the  pores,  and  even  through  the 
gloves  which  covered  the  hands."  Those  who  kissed 
the  corpse  came  away  with  swollen  lips. 

That  Peter  was  murdered  is  almost  certain ;  but 
that  Catharine  had  anything  to  do  with  it  is  not  so 
sure.  It  may  have  been  done  by  the  conspirators  to 
prevent  any  reversal  of  the  revolution.  Prison- walls 
have  hidden  many  a  dark  event ;  and  we  only  know 
that  the  czar  was  dead  and  Catharine  on  the  throne. 


A  STRUGGLE  FOR  A  THRONE. 

While  the  armies  of  Catharine  II.  were  threaten- 
ing with  destruction  the  empire  of  Turkey,  and  her 
diplomats  were  deciding  what  part  of  dismembered 
Poland  should  fall  to  her  share,  her  throne  itself  was 
put  in  danger  of  destruction  by  an  aspirant  who 
arose  in  the  east  and  for  two  years  kept  Eussia 
from  end  to  end  in  a  state  of  dire  alarm.  The  sum- 
mary manner  in  which  Peter  III.  had  been  removed 
from  the  throne  was  not  relished  by  the  people. 
]N"umerous  small  revolts  broke  out,  which  were  suc- 
cessively put  down.  St.  Petersburg  accepted  Catha- 
rine, but  Moscow  did  not,  and  on  her  visits  to  the 
latter  city  the  political  atmosphere  proved  so  frigid 
that  she  was  glad  to  get  back  to  the  more  genial 
climate  of  the  city  on  the  Neva. 

Years  passed  before  Eussia  settled  down  to  full  ac- 
ceptance of  a  reign  begun  in  violence  and  sustained 
by  force,  and  in  this  interval  there  were  no  fewer 
than  six  impostors  to  be  dealt  with,  each  of  whom 
claimed  to  be  Peter  III.  Murdered  emperors  sleep 
badly  in  their  graves.  The  example  of  the  false 
Dmitris,  generations  before,  remained  in  men's 
minds,  and  it  seemed  as  if  every  Eussian  who  bore  a 
resemblance  to  the  vanished  czar  was  ready  to  claim 
his  vacated  seat. 

Of  these  false  Peters,  the  sixth  and  most  danger- 

195 


196  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

0U8  was  a  Cossack  of  the  Don,  whose  actual  name 
was  Pugatchef,  but  whose  face  seemed  capable  of 
calling  up  an  army  wherever  it  appeared,  and  who, 
if  his  ability  had  been  equal  to  his  fortune,  might 
easily  have  seated  himself  on  the  throne.  The  im- 
postor proved  to  be  his  own  worst  foe,  and  defeated 
himself  by  his  innate  barbarity. 

Pugatchef  began  his  career  as  a  common  soldier, 
afterwards  becoming  an  officer.  Deserting  the  army 
after  a  period  of  service,  he  made  his  way  to  Poland, 
where  he  dwelt  with  the  monks  of  that  country 
and  pretended  to  equal  the  best  of  them  in  piety. 
Here  he  was  told  that  he  bore  a  striking  resemblance 
to  Peter  III.  The  hint  was  enough.  He  returned 
to  Eussia,  where  he  professed  sanctity,  dressed  like 
a  patriarch  of  the  church,  and  scattered  benedic- 
tions freely  among  the  Cossacks  of  the  Don.  He 
soon  gained  adherents  among  the  old  orthodox  party, 
who  were  bitter  against  the  religious  looseness  of  the 
court.  Finally  he  gave  himself  out  as  Peter  III., 
declaring  that  the  story  of  his  death  was  false,  that 
he  had  escaped  from  the  hands  of  the  assassins,  and 
that  he  desired  to  win  the  throne,  not  for  himself, 
but  for  his  infant  son  Paul. 

The  first  result  of  this  announcement  was  that  the 
impostor  was  seized  and  taken  to  Kasan  as  a  pris- 
oner. But  the  carelessness  of  his  guards  allowed 
him  to  escape  from  his  prison  cell,  and  he  made  his 
way  to  the  Yolga,  near  its  entrance  into  the  Caspian 
Sea,  where  he  began  to  collect  a  body  of  followers 
among  the  Cossacks  of  that  region.  His  first  open 
declaration  was  made  on  September  17,  1778,  when 


A  STRUGGLE   FOR  A  THRONE.  197 

he  appeared  with  three  hundred  Cossacks  at  the 
town  of  Yaitsk,  and  published  an  appeal  to  orthodox 
believers,  declaring  that  he  was  the  czar  Peter  III. 
and  calling  upon  them  for  support. 

His  handful  of  Cossacks  soon  grew  into  an  army, 
multitudes  of  the  tribesmen  gathered  around  him, 
and  in  a  brief  time  he  found  himself  at  the  head  of 
a  large  body  of  the  lowest  of  the  people.  The  man 
was  a  savage  at  heart,  betraying  his  innate  depravity 
by  foolish  and  useless  cruelties,  and  in  this  way  pre- 
venting the  more  educated  class  of  the  community 
from  joining  his  ranks. 

Yet  he  contrived  to  gather  about  him  an  army  of 
several  thousand  men,  and  obtained  a  considerable 
number  of  cannon,  with  which  he  soon  afterwards 
laid  siege  to  the  city  of  Orenburg.  Both  Yaitsk 
and  Orenburg  defied  his  efforts,  but  he  had  greater 
success  in  the  field,  defeating  two  armies  in  succes- 
sion. These  victories  gave  him  new  assurance.  He 
now  caused  money  to  be  coined  in  his  name,  as 
though  he  were  the  lawful  emperor,  and  marched 
northward  at  the  head  of  a  large  force  to  meet  the 
armies  of  the  state. 

His  army  was  destitute  of  order  or  discipline  and 
he  wofuUy  deficient  in  military  skill,  yet  his  procla- 
mation of  freedom  to  the  people,  and  the  opportuni- 
ties he  gave  them  for  plunder  and  outrage,  strength- 
ened his  hands,  and  recruits  came  in  multitudes. 
The  Tartars,  Kirghis,  and  Bashkirs,  who  had  been 
brought  against  their  will  under  the  Eussian  yoke, 
flocked  to  his  standard,  in  the  hope  of  regaining 
their  freedom.     Many  of  the  Poles  who  had  been 


198  HISTORICAL  TALES. 

banished  from  their  country  also  sought  his  ranks, 
and  the  people  of  Moscow  and  its  vicinity,  who  had 
from  the  first  been  opposed  to  Catharine's  reign, 
waited  his  approach  that  they  might  break  out  in 
open  rebellion. 

The  outbreak  had  thus  become  serious,  and  had 
Pugatchef  been  skilled  as  a  leader  he  might  have 
won  the  throne.  As  it  was,  his  followers  showed  a 
fiery  valor,  and,  undisciplined  as  they  were,  gave  the 
armies  of  the  empire  no  small  concern.  Bibikof, 
who  had  been  sent  to  subdue  them,  failed  through 
over-caution,  and  was  slain  in  the  field.  His  lieu- 
tenants, Galitzin  and  Michelson,  proved  more  active, 
and  frequently  defeated  the  impostor,  though  only 
to  find  him  rising  again  with  new  armies  as  often  as 
the  old  ones  were  crushed,  like  the  fabulous  giant 
who  sprang  up  in  double  form  whenever  cut  in  twain. 

Prince  Galitzin  defeated  him  twice,  the  last  time 
after  a  furious  battle  six  hours  in  length.  Pugatchef, 
abandoned  by  his  followers,  now  fled  to  the  Urals, 
but  soon  appeared  again  with  a  fresh  body  of  troops. 
Between  the  beginning  of  March  and  the  end  of  May, 
1774,  the  rebel  chief  was  defeated  six  or  seven  times 
by  Michelson,  in  the  end  being  driven  as  a  fugitive  to 
the  Ural  Mountains.  But  he  had  only  to  raise  his 
standard  again  for  fresh  armies  to  spring  up  as  if 
from  the  ground,  and  early  June  found  him  once 
more  in  the  field.  Defeated  on  June  4,  he  fled  once 
more  to  the  hills,  but  in  the  beginning  of  July  was 
facing  his  foes  again  at  the  head  of  twenty-two 
thousand  men. 

Only  the  cruelty  shown  by  himself  and  his  fol- 


A   STRUGGLE   FOR  A  THRONE.  199 

lowers,  and  his  ruthlessness  in  permitting  the  plun- 
der and  burning  of  churches  and  convents,  kept  back 
the  much  greater  hosts  who  would  otherwise  have 
flocked  to  his  ranks.  And  at  this  critical  moment  in 
his  career  he  committed  the  signal  error  of  failing  to 
march  on  Moscow,  the  principal  seat  of  the  old  Rus- 
sian faith  which  he  proposed  to  restore,  and  where 
he  would  have  found  an  army  of  partisans.  He 
marched  upon  Kasan  instead,  took  the  city,  but 
failed  to  capture  the  citadel.  Here  he  was  making 
havoc  with  fire  and  sword,  when  Michelson  came  up 
and  defeated  him  in  a  long  and  obstinate  fight. 

He  now  fled  to  the  Yolga,  wasting  the  land  as  he 
went,  burning  the  crops  and  villages,  and  leaving 
desolation  in  his  track.  Men  came  in  numbers  to 
replace  those  he  had  lost,  and  an  army  of  twenty 
thousand  was  soon  again  under  his  command.  With 
these  he  surprised  and  routed  a  Russian  force  and 
took  several  forts  on  the  Yolga,  while  the  German 
colonies  of  Moravians  which  had  been  estabhshed 
upon  that  stream,  and  were  among  the  most  indus- 
trious inhabitants  of  the  empire,  suffered  severely 
at  his  hands.  In  the  town  of  Saratof  he  murdered 
all  whom  he  met. 

As  an  example  of  the  character  of  this  monster 
in  human  form,  it  is  related  that  hearing  that  an  as- 
tronomer from  the  Imperial  Academy  of  Sciences  of 
St.  Petersburg  was  near  by,  engaged  in  laying  out 
the  route  of  a  canal  from  the  Yolga  to  the  Don,  he 
ordered  him  to  be  brought  before  him.  When  the 
peaceful  astronomer  appeared,  the  brutal  ruflSan  bade 
his  men  to  lift  him  on  their  pikes  "  so  that  he  might 


200  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

be  nearer  the  stars."  Then  he  ordered  him  to  be  cut 
to  pieces. 

The  end  of  this  carnival  of  murder  came  at  the 
siege  of  Zaritzin.  Here  Michelson  came  up  on  the 
22d  of  August  and  forced  him  to  raise  the  siege. 
On  the  24th  the  insurgents  were  attacked  when  in 
the  intricate  passes  of  the  mountains  and  encumbered 
with  baggage-wagons,  women,  and  camp-followers. 
Though  thus  taken  at  a  disadvantage,  they  defended 
themselves  vigorously,  the  mass  of  them  falling  in 
the  mountain  passes  or  being  driven  over  the  cliffs 
and  precipices.  Pugatchef  continued  to  fight  till  his 
army  was  destroyed,  then  made  his  escape,  as  so 
often  before,  swimming  the  Yolga  and  vanishing  in 
the  desert.  Only  about  sixty  of  his  most  faithful 
partisans  accompanied  him  in  his  flight. 

Michelson,  failing  to  reach  him  in  his  retreat,  took 
care  that  he  should  not  emerge  into  the  cultivated 
districts.  But  in  the  end  the  Eussians  were  able 
to  capture  him  only  by  treachery.  They  won  over 
some  of  their  Cossack  prisoners,  among  them  Anti- 
zof,  the  nearest  friend  of  the  fugitive.  These  were 
then  set  free,  and  sought  the  desert  retreat  of  their 
late  leader,  where  they  awaited  an  opportunity  to 
take  him  by  surprise. 

This  they  were  not  able  to  do  until  November. 
Pugatchef  was  gnawing  the  bone  of  a  horse  for  food 
when  his  false  friends  ran  up  to  him,  saying,  "  Come, 
you  have  long  enough  been  emperor." 

Perceiving  that  treachery  was  intended,  he  drew 
his  pistol  and  fired  at  his  foes,  shattering  the  arm  of 
the  foremost.    The  others  seized  and  bound  him  and 


A   STRUGGLE   FOR  A   THRONE.  201 

conveyed  him  to  Goroduk  in  the  Ural,  the  locality 
of  Antizof's  tribe.  Michelson  was  still  seeking  him 
in  the  desert  when  word  came  to  him  that  the  fugi- 
tive had  been  delivered  into  Eussian  hands  at  Sim- 
birsk, and  was  being  conveyed  to  Moscow  in  an  iron 
cage,  like  the  beast  of  prey  which  he  resembled  in 
character. 

On  the  way  he  sought  to  starve  himself,  but  was 
forced  to  eat  by  the  soldiers.  On  reaching  Moscow 
he  counterfeited  madness.  His  trial  was  conducted 
without  the  torture  which  had  formerly  been  so 
common  a  feature  of  Eussian  tribunals.  The  sen- 
tence of  the  court  was  that  he  should  be  exhibited 
to  the  people  with  his  hands  and  feet  cut  off,  and 
then  quartered  alive.  With  unyielding  resolution 
Pugatchef  awaited  this  cruel  death,  but  the  sentence, 
for  some  reason,  was  not  executed,  he  being  first  be- 
headed and  then  quartered.  Four  of  his  principal 
followers  suffered  the  same  fate,  and  thus  ended 
one  of  the  most  determined  efforts  on  the  part  of  an 
impostor  to  seize  the  Eussian  throne  that  had  ever 
been  known.  The  undoubted  courage  of  the  man 
was  enough  to  prove  that  he  was  not  Peter  III. 
Had  he  combined  military  capacity  with  his  daring 
he  could  readily  have  won  the  throne. 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  THE  KALMUCKS. 

On  the  5th  of  January,  1771,  began  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  events  in  the  history  of  the  world, 
the  migration  of  an  entire  nation,  more  than  half  a 
million  strong,  with  its  women  and  children,  flocks 
and  herds,  and  all  that  it  possessed,  to  a  new  home 
four  thousand  miles  away.  More  than  once — many 
times,  apparently — in  the  history  of  the  past  such 
migrations  have  taken  place.  But  those  were  war- 
like movements,  with  conquest  as  their  aim.  This 
was  a  peaceful  migration,  the  only  desire  of  those 
concerned  being  to  be  let  alone.  This  desire  was  not 
granted,  and  death  and  terror  marked  every  step  of 
their  frightful  journey. 

A  century  and  a  half  earlier  the  fathers  of  these 
people,  the  Kalmuck  Tartars,  had  left  their  homes 
in  the  Chinese  empire  and  wandered  west,  finding 
a  resting-place  at  last  on  the  Yolga  Eiver,  in  the 
Russian  realm.  Here  they  would  have  been  well 
content  to  remain  but  for  the  arts  and  designs  of 
one  man,  Zebek-Dorchi  by  name,  who,  ambitious  to 
be  made  khan  of  the  tribe,  and  not  being  favored  in 
his  desires  by  the  Eussian  court,  determined  to  re- 
move the  whole  Kalmuck  nation  beyond  the  reach 
of  Russian  control. 

This  was  no  easy  matter  to  do.  Russia  had  spread 
to  the  east  until  the  whole  width  of  Asia  lay  within 
202 


THE   FLIGHT   OP   THE   KALMUCKS.  203 

its  broad  expanse  and  its  boundary  touched  the  Pa- 
cific waves.  To  reach  China,  the  mighty  Mongolian 
plain  had  to  be  crossed,  largely  a  desert,  swarming 
with  hostile  tribes ;  death  and  disaster  were  likely  to 
haunt  every  mile  of  the  way ;  and  a  general  tomb  in 
the  wilderness,  rather  than  a  home  in  a  new  land, 
was  the  most  probable  destiny  of  the  migrating 
horde. 

Zebek-Dorchi  was  confronted  with  a  difficult  task. 
He  had  to  induce  the  tribesmen  to  consent  to  the 
new  movement,  and  that  so  quickly  that  a  start 
could  be  made  before  the  Eussians  became  aware 
of  the  scheme.  Otherwise  the  path  would  be  lined 
with  armies  and  the  movement  checked. 

Oubacha,  the  khan  of  the  Kalmucks,  w^as  a  brave 
but  weak  man.  The  conspirator  controlled  him,  and 
through  him  the  people.  On  a  fixed  day,  through 
a  false  alarm  that  the  Kirghises  and  Bashkirs  had 
made  an  inroad  upon  the  Kalmuck  lands,  he  suc- 
ceeded in  gathering  a  great  Kalmuck  horde,  eighty 
thousand  in  all,  at  a  point  out  of  reach  of  Eussian 
ears.  Here,  with  subtle  eloquence,  he  told  them  of 
the  oppressions  of  Eussia,  of  her  insults  to  the  Kal- 
mucks, her  contempt  for  their  religion,  and  her  de- 
sign to  reduce  them  to  slavery,  and  declared  that  a 
plan  had  been  devised  to  rob  them  of  their  eldest 
sons.  By  a  skilful  mixture  of  truth  and  falsehood 
he  roused  their  fears  and  their  anger,  and  at  length 
he  proposed  that  they  should  leave  their  fields  and 
make  a  rapid  march  to  the  Temba  or  some  other 
great  river,  from  behind  which  they  could  speak  in 
bolder  language  to  the  Eussian  empress  and  claim 


204  HISTORICAL  TALES. 

better  terms.  He  did  not  venture  as  yet  to  hint  at 
his  startling  plan  of  a  migration  to  far-off  China. 

The  simple-minded  Tartars,  made  furious  by  his 
skilful  oratory,  accepted  his  plan  by  acclamation,  and 
returned  home  to  push  with  the  utmost  haste  the 
preparations  for  their  stupendous  task.  The  idea  of 
a  migration  en  masse  did  not  frighten  them.  They 
were  nomads  and  the  descendants  of  nomads,  who 
for  ages  had  been  used  to  fold  their  tents  and  flit 
away. 

The  Kalmuck  villages  extended  on  both  sides  of  the 
Yolga.  A  large  section  of  the  horde  would  have  to 
cross  that  great  stream,  and  this  could  be  done  with 
sufficient  speed  only  when  its  surface  was  bridged 
with  ice.  For  this  reason  midwinter  was  chosen  for 
the  flight,  despite  the  sufferings  which  must  arise 
from  the  bitter  Eussian  cold,  and  the  5th  of  January 
was  appointed  for  religious  reasons  by  the  leading 
Lama  of  the  tribe.  The  year  had  been  selected  by 
the  Great  Lama  of  Thibet,  the  head  of  the  Buddhist 
faith,  to  which  the  Kalmucks  belonged,  and  to  whom 
the  conspirator  had  appealed. 

Despite  the  secrecy  and  rapidity  of  the  movement, 
tidings  of  it  reached  the  Eussian  court.  But  the 
Eussian  envoy  who  dwelt  among  the  Kalmucks  was 
quite  deceived  by  their  wiles,  and  sent  word  to  the 
imperial  court  that  the  rumors  were  false  and  nothing 
resembling  an  outbreak  was  in  view.  The  governor 
of  Astrachan,  a  man  of  more  sense  and  discern- 
ment, sent  courier  after  courier,  but  his  warnings 
were  ignored,  and  the  fatal  5th  of  January  came 
without  a  preventive  step  being  taken  by  the  govern- 


THE   FLIGHT   OP   THE    KALMUCKS.  205 

ment.  Then  the  governor,  learning  that  the  migra- 
tion had  actually  begun,  sprang  into  his  sleigh  and 
drove  over  the  Eussian  snows  at  the  furious  speed 
of  three  hundred  miles  a  day,  finally  rushing  into 
the  imperial  presence-chamber  at  St.  Petersburg  to 
announce  to  the  empress  that  all  his  warnings  had 
been  true  and  that  the  Kalmucks  were  in  full  flight. 
Other  couriers  quickly  confirmed  his  words,  and  the 
envoy  paid  for  his  blindness  by  death  in  a  dungeon- 
cell. 

Meanwhile  the  banks  of  the  Yolga  had  been  the 
locality  of  a  remarkable  event.  At  early  dawn  of  the 
selected  day  the  Kalmucks  east  of  the  stream  began 
to  assemble  in  troops  and  squadrons,  gathering  in  tens 
of  thousands,  a  great  body  of  the  tribe  setting  out 
every  half-hour  on  its  march.  Women  and  children, 
several  hundred  thousand  in  number,  were  placed  on 
wagons  and  camels,  and  moved  off  in  masses  of  twenty 
thousand  at  once,  with  escorts  of  mounted  men.  As 
the  march  proceeded,  outlying  bodies  of  the  horde 
kept  falling  in  during  that  and  the  following  day. 

From  sixty  to  eighty  thousand  of  the  best  mounted 
warriors  stayed  behind  for  work  of  ruin  and  re- 
venge. Their  first  purpose  was  to  destroy  their  own 
dwellings,  lest  some  of  the  weak-minded  might  be 
tempted  to  return.  Oubacha,  the  khan,  set  the  ex- 
ample by  applying  the  torch  to  his  own  palace. 
Before  the  day  was  over  the  villages  throughout  a 
district  of  ten  thousand  square  miles  were  in  a  simul- 
taneous blaze.  Nothing  was  saved  except  the  port- 
able utensils  and  such  of  the  wood- work  as  might  be 
used  in  making  the  long  Tartar  lances. 


206  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

This  was  but  part  of  the  destruction  proposed. 
Zebek-Dorchi  had  it  in  view  to  pillage  and  destroy 
all  the  Eussian  towns,  churches,  and  buildings  of 
every  kind  within  the  surrounding  district,  with 
outrage  and  death  to  their  inhabitants, — a  frightful 
scheme,  which  was  providentially  checked.  The 
day  of  flight  had  been  selected,  as  has  been  said,  in 
the  worst  season  of  the  year,  in  order  that  the  tribes 
west  of  the  Yolga  might  be  able  to  cross  its  surface 
on  a  thick  bridge  of  ice.  Yet  for  some  reason — 
possibly  because  of  the  weakness  of  the  ice — the 
western  Kalmucks  failed  to  join  their  eastern  breth- 
ren, and  fully  one  hundred  thousand  of  the  Tartars 
were  left  behind.  It  was  this  that  saved  the  Eus- 
sian towns,  it  being  feared  by  the  leaders  that  such 
a  vengeance  would  be  repaid  upon  their  brethren 
left  to  Eussian  reprisal.  These  western  Kalmucks 
little  guessed  what  horrors  they  were  escaping  by 
being  prevented  from  joining  in  the  flight. 

The  migrating  horde  was  not  less  than  six  hun- 
dred thousand  strong,  while  a  vast  number  of  horses, 
camels,  cattle,  goats,  and  sheep  added  to  the  multi- 
tude of  living  forms.  The  march  was  a  forced  one. 
Every  day  gained  was  of  prime  importance,  for  it 
was  well  known  that  Eussian  armies  would  soon  be 
in  hot  pursuit,  while  the  tribes  on  their  line  of 
march,  hereditary  foes  of  the  Kalmucks,  would 
gather  from  all  sides  to  oppose  their  passage  as 
the  news  of  the  flight  reached  their  ears. 

The  river  Jaik,  three  hundred  miles  away,  must 
be  reached  before  a  day's  rest  could  be  had.  The 
weather  was  not  severely  cold,  and  the  journey  might 


THE    FLIGHT   OF   THE   KALMUCKS.  207 

have  been  accomplished  with  little  distress  but  for  the 
forced  pace.  As  it  was,  the  cattle  suffered  greatly, 
the  sheep  died  in  multitudes,  milk  began  to  fail,  and 
only  the  great  number  of  camels  saved  the  children 
and  the  infirm. 

The  first  of  the  subjects  of  Eussia  with  whom  the 
Kalmucks  came  into  collision  were  the  Cossacks  of 
the  Jaik.  At  this  season  most  of  these  were  absent 
at  the  fisheries  on  the  Caspian,  and  the  others  fled 
in  crowds  to  the  fortress  of  Koulagina,  which  was 
quickly  summoned  to  surrender  by  the  Kalmuck 
khan.  The  Kussian  commandant,  numerous  as  were 
his  foes,  refused,  knowing  that  they  must  soon  re- 
sume their  flight.  He  had  not  long  to  wait.  On  tbe 
fifth  day  of  the  siege,  from  the  walls  of  the  fort  a 
number  of  Tartar  couriers,  mounted  on  the  swift 
Bactrian  camels,  were  seen  to  cross  the  plains  and 
ride  into  the  Kalmuck  camp  at  their  highest  speed. 

Immediately  a  great  agitation  was  visible  in  the 
camp,  the  siege  was  raised,  and  the  signal  for  flight 
resounded  through  the  host.  The  news  brought 
was  that  an  entire  Kalmuck  division,  numbering 
nine  thousand  fighting-men,  stationed  on  a  distant 
flank  of  the  hne  of  march,  and  between  whom  and 
the  Cossacks  there  was  an  ancient  feud,  had  been 
attacked  and  virtually  exterminated.  The  exhaus- 
tion of  their  horses  and  camels  had  prevented  flight, 
quarter  was  not  asked  or  given,  and  the  battle  con- 
tinued until  not  a  fighting-man  was  left  alive. 

The  utmost  speed  was  now  necessary,  for  a  suffi- 
cient reason.  The  next  safe  halting-place  of  the 
Kalmucks  was  on  the   east   bank  of  the  Toorgai 


208  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

Eiver.  Between  it  and  them  rose  a  hilly  country, 
a  narrow  defile  through  which  offered  the  nearest 
and  best  route.  This  lost,  the  need  of  pasturage 
would  require  a  further  sweep  of  five  hundred 
miles.  The  Cossack  light  horsemen  were  only  about 
fifty  miles  more  distant  from  the  pass.  If  it  were 
to  be  won,  the  most  rapid  march  possible  must  be 
made. 

For  a  day  and  a  night  the  flight  went  on,  with  re- 
newed suffering  and  loss  of  animals.  Then  a  snow- 
fall, soon  too  deep  to  journey  through,  checked  all 
progress,  and  for  ten  days  they  had  a  season  of 
rest,  comfort,  and  plenty.  The  cows  and  oxen  had 
perished  in  such  numbers  that  it  was  resolved  to 
slaughter  what  remained,  feast  to  their  hearts'  con- 
tent, and  salt  the  remainder  for  future  stores. 

At  length  clear,  frosty  weather  came:  the  snow 
ceased  to  drift,  and  its  surface  froze.  It  would  bear 
the  camels,  and  the  flight  was  resumed.  But  al- 
ready seventy  thousand  persons  of  all  ages  had  per- 
ished, in  addition  to  those  slain  in  battle,  and  new 
suffering  and  death  impended,  for  word  came  that 
the  troops  of  the  empire  were  converging  from  all 
parts  of  Central  Asia  upon  the  fords  of  the  Toorgai, 
as  the  best  place  to  cut  off  the  flight  of  the  tribes, 
while  a  powerful  army  was  marching  rapidly  upon 
their  rear,  though  delayed  by  its  artillery. 

On  the  2d  of  February  Ouchim,  the  much-desired 
defile,  was  reached.  The  Cossacks  had  been  out- 
marched. A  considerable  body  of  them,  it  is  true, 
had  reached  the  pass  some  hours  before,  but  they 
were  attacked  and  so  fiercely  dealt  with  that  few 


THE   FLIGHT   OF   THE   KALMUCKS.  209 

of  them  escaped.  The  Kalmucks  here  obtained  re- 
venge for  the  slaughter  of  their  fellows  twenty  days 
before. 

The  road  was  now  open.  How  long  it  would  con- 
tinue open  was  in  doubt.  Word  came  that  a  large 
Eussian  army,  led  by  General  Traubenberg,  was 
advancing  upon  the  Toorgai.  He  was  to  be  met  on 
his  route  by  ten  thousand  Bashkirs  and  as  many 
Kirghises,  implacable  enemies  of  the  Kalmucks,  from 
whom  they  had  suffered  in  past  years.  The  only 
hope  now  lay  in  speed,  and  onward  the  Kalmucks 
pressed,  their  line  of  march  marked  by  the  bodies  of 
the  dead.  The  weak,  the  sick,  had  to  be  left  behind ; 
nothing  was  suffered  to  impede  the  rapidity  of  their 
flight. 

From  the  starting-point  on  the  Yolga  to  the  halt- 
ing-ground on  the  Toorgai,  counting  the  circuits  that 
had  to  be  made,  was  full  two  thousand  miles,  much 
of  it  traversed  in  the  dead  of  winter,  the  cold,  for 
seven  weeks  of  the  journey,  being  excessively  severe. 
Napoleon's  army  in  its  retreat  from  Moscow  suffered 
no  more  from  the  winter  chill  than  did  this  migra- 
ting nation.  On  many  a  morning  the  dawning  light 
shone  on  a  circle  that  had  gathered  the  night  before 
around  a  sparse  fire  (made  from  the  lading  of  the 
camels  or  from  broken-up  baggage-wagons),  now 
dead  and  frozen  stiff  as  they  sat. 

But  at  length  the  snows  ceased  to  fall,  the  frost  to 
chill.  Spring  came.  March  and  April  passed  away. 
May  arrived  with  its  balmy  airs.  Vernal  sights  and 
sounds  cheered  them  on  every  side.  During  all  these 
months  they  continued  their  march,  and  towards 

14 


210  HISTORICAL  TALES. 

the  end  of  May  the  Toorgai  wasreached  and  crossed, 
and  the  weary  wanderers,  having  left  their  enemies 
far  in  the  rear,  hoped  to  find  comfort  and  security 
during  weeks  of  rest,  and  to  complete  their  journey 
with  less  of  ruin  and  suifering.  They  little  dreamed 
that  the  worst  of  their  task  had  yet  to  be  endured. 

During  the  five  months  of  their  wanderings  their 
losses  had  been  frightfully  severe.  'Not  less  than 
two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  members  of  the 
horde  had  perished,  while  their  herds  and  flocks — 
oxen,  cows,  sheep,  goats,  horses,  mules,  and  asses — 
had  perished,  only  the  camels  surviving.  These 
hardy  creatures  had  come  through  the  terrible  jour- 
ney unharmed,  and  on  them  rested  all  their  hopes 
for  the  remainder  of  their  flight. 

But  another  two  thousand  miles  lay  before  them, 
with  hostility  in  front  and  in  rear.  Should  they  still 
go  on,  or  should  they  return  and  throw  themselves 
on  the  mercy  of  the  empress  ?  Oubacha,  the  khan, 
advised  return,  oifering  to  take  all  the  guilt  of  the 
flight  upon  himself  Zebek-Dorchi  earnestly  urged 
them  to  proceed,  and  not  lose  the  fruit  of  all  their 
suffering.  But  the  people,  worn  out  with  the  hard- 
ships and  perils  of  their  route,  favored  a  return  and 
a  trust  in  the  imperial  mercy,  and  this  would  prob- 
ably have  been  determined  upon  but  for  an  untoward 
event. 

This  was  the  arrival  of  two  envoys  from  Trauben- 
berg,  the  Kussian  general,  who,  after  a  long  and 
painful  march,  had  approached  within  a  few  days' 
journey  of  the  fugitives  about  the  1st  of  June.  On 
his  way  he  had  been  joined  by  large  bodies  of  the 


THE   FLIGHT   OP   THE   KALMUCKS.  211 

Kirghis  and  Bashkir  nomads.  The  harsh  tone  and 
peremptory  demands  of  the  envoys  aroused  hostile 
feelings  among  the  Kalmuck  chiefs.  But  the  main 
check  to  negotiations  was  the  action  of  the  Bashkirs, 
who,  finding  that  Traubenberg  would  not  advance, 
left  his  camp  in  a  body  and  set  off  for  the  Kalmuck 
halting-place. 

In  six  days  they  reached  the  Toorgai,  swam  their 
horses  across  it,  and  fell  in  fury  upon  the  Kalmucks, 
who  were  dispersed  over  leagues  of  ground  in  search 
of  pasture  and  food.  Peace  at  once  changed  to 
war.  Over  a  field  from  thirty  to  forty  miles  wide, 
fighting,  flight  and  pursuit,  rescue  and  death,  went 
on  at  all  points.  More  than  once  were  the  khan  and 
Zebek-Dorchi  in  peril  of  death.  At  one  time  both 
were  made  prisoners.  But  at  length,  concentrating 
their  strength,  they  forced  the  Bashkirs  to  retreat. 
For  two  days  more  the  wild  Bashkir  and  Kirghis 
cavalry  continued  their  attacks,  and  the  Kalmuck 
chiefs,  looking  upon  these  as  the  advance  parties  of 
the  Eussian  army,  felt  themselves  obliged  to  order  a 
renewal  of  the  flight.  Thus  suddenly  ended  their 
hoped-for  season  of  repose. 

One  event  took  place  during  this  period  of  which 
it  is  important  to  speak.  A  Russian  gentleman, 
Weseloff  by  name,  was  held  prisoner  in  the  Kalmuck 
camp,  and  had  been  brought  that  far  on  their  route. 
The  khan  Oubacha,  who  saw  no  object  in  holding 
him,  now  gave  him  leave  to  attempt  his  escape,  and 
also  asked  him  to  accompany  him  during  a  private 
interview  which  he  was  to  hold  on  the  next  night 
with  the  hetman  of  the  Bashkirs.      Weseloff  de- 


212  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

clined  to  do  so,  and  bade  the  khan  to  beware,  as  he 
feared  the  scheme  meant  treachery. 

About  ten  that  night  Weseloff,  with  three  Kal- 
mucks who  had  offered  to  join  in  his  flight,  they 
having  strong  reasons  for  a  return  to  Eussia,  sought 
a  number  of  the  half- wild  horses  of  that  district 
which  they  had  caught  and  hidden  in  the  thickets 
on  the  river's  side.  They  were  in  the  act  of  mount- 
ing, when  the  silence  of  the  night  was  broken  by  a 
sudden  clash  of  arms,  and  a  voice,  which  sounded 
like  that  of  the  khan,  was  heard  calling  for  aid. 

The  Eussian,  remembering  what  Oubacha  had  told 
him,  rode  off  hastily  towards  the  sound,  bidding  his 
companions  follow.  Eeaching  an  open  glade  in  the 
wood,  he  saw  four  men  fighting  with  nine  or  ten, 
one,  who  looked  like  the  khan,  contending  on  foot 
against  two  horsemen.  Weseloff  fired  at  once,  bring- 
ing down  one  of  the  assailants.  His  companions 
followed  with  their  fire,  and  then  all  rode  into  the 
glade,  whereupon  the  assailants,  thinking  that  a 
troop  of  cavalry  was  upon  them,  hastily  fled.  The 
dead  man,  when  examined,  proved  to  be  a  confi- 
dential servant  of  Zebek-Dorchi.  The  secret  was 
out:  this  ambitious  conspirator  had  sought  the 
murder  of  the  khan. 

Accompanying  the  khan  until  he  had  reached  a 
place  of  safety,  Weseloff  and  his  companions,  at  the 
suggestion  of  the  grateful  Oubacha,  rode  off  at  the 
utmost  speed,  fearing  pursuit.  Their  return  was 
made  along  the  route  the  Kalmucks  had  traversed, 
every  step  of  which  could  be  traced  by  skeletons  and 
other  memorials  of  the  flight.     Among  these  were 


THE   PLIGHT  OF  THE  KALMUCKS.  213 

heaps  of  money  which  had  been  abandoned  in  the 
desert,  and  of  which  they  took  as  much  as  they 
could  conveniently  carry.  Weseloif  at  length  reached 
home,  rushed  precipitately  into  the  house  where  his 
loving  mother  had  long  mourned  his  loss,  and  so 
shocked  her  by  the  sudden  revulsion  of  joy  after 
her  long  sorrow  that  she  fell  dead  on  the  spot.  It 
was  a  sad  ending  to  his  happy  return. 

To  return  to  the  Kalmuck  flight.  Two  thousand 
miles  still  remained  to  be  traversed  before  the  bor- 
ders of  China  would  be  reached.  All  that  took  place 
in  the  dreary  interval  is  too  much  to  tell.  It  must 
suffice  to  say  that  the  Bashkirs  pursued  them  through 
the  whole  long  route,  while  the  choice  of  two  evils 
lay  in  front.  Now  they  made  their  way  through 
desert  regions.  !N'ow,  pressed  by  want  of  food,  they 
traversed  rich  and  inhabited  lands,  through  which 
they  had  to  win  a  passage  with  the  sword.  Every 
day  the  Bashkirs  attacked  them,  drawing  off  into 
the  desert  when  too  sharply  resisted.  Thus,  with 
endless  alternations  of  hunger  and  bloodshed,  the 
borders  of  China  at  length  were  approached. 

And  now  we  have  another  scene  in  this  remark- 
able drama  to  describe.  Keen  Lung,  the  emperor 
of  China,  had  been  long  apprised  of  the  flight  of  the 
Kalmucks,  and  had  prepared  a  place  of  residence  for 
these  erring  children  of  his  nation,  as  he  considered 
them,  on  their  return  to  their  native  land.  But  he 
did  not  expect  their  arrival  until  the  approach  of 
winter,  having  been  advised  that  they  proposed  to 
dwell  during  the  summer  heats  on  the  Toorgai's  fer- 
tile banks. 


214  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

One  fine  morning  in  September,  1771,  this  fatherly- 
monarch  was  enjoying  himself  in  hunting  in  a  wild 
district  north  of  the  Great  Wall.  Here,  for  hundreds 
of  square  leagues,  the  country  was  overgrown  with 
forest,  filled  with  game.  Centrally  in  this  district 
rose  a  gorgeous  hunting-lodge,  to  which  the  emperor 
retired  annually  for  a  season  of  escape  from  the 
cares  of  government.  Leaving  his  lodge,  he  had 
pursued  the  game  through  some  two  hundred  miles 
of  forest,  every  night  pitching  his  tent  in  a  different 
locality.  A  military  escort  followed  at  no  great  dis- 
tance in  the  rear. 

On  the  morning  in  question  the  emperor  found 
himself  on  the  margin  of  the  vast  deserts  of  Asia, 
which  stretched  interminably  away.  As  he  stood  in 
his  tent  door,  gazing  across  the  extended  plain,  he  saw 
with  surprise,  far  to  the  west,  a  vast  dun  cloud  arise, 
which  mounted  and  spread  until  it  covered  that  whole 
quarter  of  the  sky.  It  thickened  as  it  rose,  and  began 
to  roll  in  billowy  volumes  towards  his  camp. 

This  singular  phenomenon  aroused  general  atten- 
tion. The  suite  of  the  emperor  hastened  to  behold 
it.  In  the  rear  the  silver  trumpets  sounded,  and 
from  the  forest  avenues  rode  the  imperial  cavalry 
escort.  All  eyes  were  fixed  upon  the  rolling  cloud, 
the  sentiment  of  curiosity  being  gradually  replaced 
by  a  dread  of  possible  danger.  At  first  the  dust- 
cloud  was  imagined  to  be  due  to  a  vast  troop  of 
deer  or  other  wild  animals,  driven  into  the  plain  by 
the  hunting  train  or  by  beasts  of  prey.  This  con- 
ception vanished  as  it  came  nearer,  until,  seemingly, 
it  was  but  a  few  miles  away. 


THE  FLIGHT  OF   THE   KALMUCKS.  215 

And  now,  as  the  breeze  freshened  a  little,  the 
vapory  curtain  rolled  and  eddied,  until  it  assumed 
the  appearance  of  vast  aerial  draperies  depending 
from  the  heavens  to  the  earth;  sometimes,  where 
rent  by  the  eddying  breeze,  it  resembled  portals  and 
archways,  through  which,  at  intervals,  were  seen 
the  gleam  of  weapons  and  the  dim  forms  of  camels 
and  human  beings.  At  times,  again,  the  cloud  thick- 
ened, shutting  all  from  view ;  but  through  it  broke 
the  din  of  battle,  the  shouts  of  combatants,  the  roar 
of  infuriated  hordes  in  mortal  conflict. 

It  was,  in  fact,  the  Kalmuck  host,  now  in  the  last 
stage  of  misery  and  exhaustion,  yet  still  pursued  by 
their  unrelenting  foes.  Of  the  six  hundred  thousand 
who  had  begun  the  journey  scarcely  a  third  remained, 
cold,  heat,  famine,  and  warfare  having  swept  away 
nearly  half  a  million  of  the  fleeing  host,  while  of 
their  myriad  animals  only  the  camels  and  the  horses 
brought  from  the  Toorgal  remained.  For  the  past 
ten  days  their  suffering  had  reached  a  climax.  They 
had  been  traversing  a  frightful  desert,  destitute  alike 
of  water  and  of  vegetation.  Two  days  before  their 
small  allowance  of  water  had  failed,  and  to  the 
fatigue  of  flight  had  been  added  the  horrors  of 
insupportable  thirst. 

On  came  the  flying  and  fighting  mass.  It  was 
soon  evident  that  it  was  not  moving  towards  the 
imperial  train,  and  those  who  knew  the  country 
judged  that  it  was  speeding  towards  a  large  fresh- 
water lake  about  seven  or  eight  miles  away.  Thither 
the  imperial  cavalry,  of  which  a  strong  body,  at- 
tended with  artillery,  lay  some  miles  in  the  rear,  was 


216  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

ordered  in  all  haste  to  ride ;  and  there,  at  noon  of 
September  8,  the  great  migration  of  the  Kalmucks 
came  to  an  end,  amid  the  most  ferocious  and  blood- 
thirsty scene  of  its  whole  frightful  course. 

The  lake  of  Tengis  lies  in  a  hollow  among  low 
mountains,  on  the  verge  of  the  great  desert  of  Gobi. 
The  Chinese  cavalry  reached  the  summit  of  a  road 
that  led  down  to  the  lake  at  about  eleven  o'clock. 
The  descent  was  a  winding  and  difiicult  one,  and  took 
them  an  hour  and  a  half,  during  the  whole  of  which 
they  were  spectators  of  an  extraordinary  scene  below, 
the  last  and  most  fiendish  spectacle  in  eight  months 
of  almost  constant  warfare. 

The  sight  of  the  distant  hills  and  forests  on  that 
morning,  and  the  announcement  of  the  guides  that 
the  lake  of  Tengis  was  near  at  hand,  had  excited  the 
suffering  host  into  a  state  of  frenzy,  and  a  wild  rush 
was  made  for  the  water,  in  which  all  discipline  was 
lost,  and  the  heat  of  the  day  and  the  exhaustion  of 
the  people  were  ignored.  The  rear-guard  joined  in 
the  mad  flight.  In  among  the  people  rode  the  savage 
Bashkirs,  suffering  as  much  as  themselves,  yet  still 
eager  for  blood,  and  slaughtering  them  by  wholesale, 
almost  without  resistance.  Screams  and  shouts  filled 
the  air,  but  none  heeded  or  halted,  all  rushing  madly 
on,  spurred  forward  by  the  intolerable  agonies  of 
thirst. 

At  length  the  lake  was  reached.  Into  its  waters 
dashed  the  whole  suffering  mass,  forgetful  of  every- 
thing but  the  wild  instinct  to  quench  their  thirst. 
But  hardly  had  the  water  moistened  their  lips  when 
the  carnival  of  bloodshed  was  resumed,  and  the  waters 


THE   PLIGHT   OF   THE   KALMUCKS.  217 

became  crimsoned  with  gore.  The  savage  Bashkirs 
rode  fiercely  through  the  host,  striking  off  heads 
with  unappeased  fury.  The  mortal  foes  joined  in  a 
death-grapple  in  the  waters,  often  sinking  together 
beneath  the  ruffled  surface.  Even  the  camels  were 
made  to  take  part  in  the  fight,  striking  down  the 
foe  with  their  lashing  forelegs.  The  waters  grew 
more  and  more  polluted ;  but  new  myriads  came  up 
momentarily  and  plunged  in,  heedless  of  everything 
but  thirst.  Such  a  spectacle  of  revengeful  passion, 
ghastly  fear,  the  frenzy  of  hatred,  mortal  conflict, 
convulsion  and  despair  as  fell  on  the  eyes  of  the 
approaching  horsemen  has  rarely  been  seen,  and 
that  quiet  mountain  lake,  which  perhaps  had  never 
before  vibrated  with  the  sounds  of  battle,  was  on 
that  fatal  day  converted  into  an  encrimsoned  sea  of 
blood. 

At  length  the  Bashkirs,  alarmed  by  the  near  ap- 
proach of  the  Chinese  cavalry,  began  to  draw  off  and 
gather  into  groups,  in  preparation  to  meet  the  onset 
of  a  new  foe.  As  they  did  so,  the  commandant  of  a 
small  Chinese  fort,  built  on  an  eminence  above  the 
lake,  poured  an  artillery  fire  into  their  midst.  Each 
group  was  thus  dispersed  as  rapidly  as  it  formed, 
the  Chinese  cavalry  reached  the  foot  of  the  hills  and 
joined  in  the  attack,  and  soon  a  new  scene  of  war 
and  bloodshed  was  in  full  process  of  enactment. 

But  the  savage  horsemen,  convinced  that  the  con- 
test was  growing  hopeless,  now  began  to  retire,  and 
were  quickly  in  full  flight  into  the  desert,  pursued  as 
far  as  it  was  deemed  wise.  No  pursuit  was  needed, 
even  to  satisfy  the  Kalmuck  spirit  of  revenge.     The 


218  HISTORICAL  TALES. 

fact  that  their  enemies  had  again  to  cross  that  in- 
hospitable desert,  with  its  horrors  of  hunger  and 
thirst,  was  as  full  of  retribution  as  the  most  vindic- 
tive could  have  asked. 

Here  ends  our  tale.  The  exhausted  Kalmucks 
were  abundantly  provided  for  by  their  new  lord  and 
master,  who  supplied  them  with  the  food  necessary, 
established  them  in  a  fertile  region  of  his  empire, 
furnished  them  with  clothing,  tools,  a  year's  sub- 
sistence, grain  for  their  fields,  animals  for  their 
pastures,  and  money  to  aid  them  in  their  other 
needs,  displaying  towards  his  new  subjects  the  most 
kindly  and  munificent  generosity.  They  were  placed 
under  better  conditions  than  they  had  enjoyed  in 
Eussia,  though  changed  from  a  pastoral  and  nomadic 
people  to  an  agricultural  one. 

As  for  Zebek-Dorchi,  his  attempt  on  the  life  of  the 
khan  had  produced  a  feud  between  the  two,  which 
grew  until  it  attracted  the  attention  of  the  emperor. 
Inquiring  into  the  circumstances  of  the  enmity,  he 
espoused  the  cause  of  Oubacha,  which  so  infuriated 
the  foe  of  the  khan  that  he  wove  nets  of  conspiracy 
even  against  the  emperor  himself.  In  the  end  Zebek- 
Dorchi,  with  his  accomplices,  was  invited  to  the  im- 
perial lodge,  and  there,  at  a  great  banquet,  his  arts 
and  plots  were  exposed,  and  he  and  all  his  followers 
were  assassinated  at  the  feast. 

As  a  durable  monument  to  the  mighty  exodus  of 
the  Kalmucks,  the  most  remarkable  circumstance  of 
the  kind  in  the  whole  history  of  nations,  the  emperor 
Keen  Lung  ordered  to  be  erected  on  the  banks  of  the 
Ily,  at  the  margin  of  the  steppes,  a  great  monument 


THE   FLIGHT   OP   THE   KALMUCKS.  219 

of  granite  and  brass,  bearing  an  inscription  to  the 
following  effect : 

By  the  Will  of  God, 

Here,  upon  the  hrink  of  these  Deserts, 

Which  from  this  Point  begin  and  stretch  away. 

Pathless,  treeless,  waterless, 

Por  thousands  of  miles,  and  along  the  margins  of  many  mighty 

Nations, 

Kested  from  their  labors  and  from  great  afflictions 

Under  the  shadow  of  the  Chinese  Wall, 

And  by  the  favor  of  Keen  Lung,  God's  Lieutenant  upon 

Earth, 

The  Ancient  Children  of  the  Wilderness,  the  Torgote  Tartars, 

Plying  before  the  wrath  of  the  Grecian  Czar, 

Wandering  sheep  who  had  strayed  away  from  the  Celestial 

Empire  in  the  year  1616, 

But  are  now  mercifully  gathered  again,  after  infinite  sorrow, 

Into  the  fold  of  their  forgiving  Shepherd. 

Hallowed  be  the  spot  forever, 

and 

Hallowed  be  the  day,-— September  8,  1771. 

Amen. 


A  MAGICAL  TRANSFORMATION 
SCENE, 

Catharine  the  Great  earned  her  title  cheaply, 
her  patent  of  greatness  being  due  to  the  fact  that 
she  had  the  judgment  to  select  great  generals  and 
a  great  minister  and  the  wisdom  to  cling  to  them. 
Eussia  grew  powerful  during  her  reign,  largely 
through  the  able  work  of  her  generals,  and  she  for- 
gave Potemkin  a  thousand  insults  and  unblushing 
robberies  in  view  of  his  successful  statesmanship. 
Potemkin  possessed,  in  addition  to  his  ability  as  a 
statesman,  the  faculty  of  a  spectacular  artist,  and 
arranged  a  show  for  the  empress  which  stands  un- 
rivalled amid  the  triumphs  of  the  stage.  It  is  the 
tale  of  this  spectacle  which  we  propose  to  tell. 

Catharine  had  literary  aspirations,  one  of  her 
admirations  being  Yoltaire,  with  whom  she  corre- 
sponded, and  on  whom  she  depended  to  chronicle 
the  glory  of  her  reign.  The  poet  had  his  dreams, 
in  which  the  woman  shared,  and  between  them  they 
contrived  a  scheme  of  a  modern  Utopia,  a  Eusso- 
Grecian  city  of  whose  civilization  the  empress  was 
to  be  the  source,  and  which  a  decree  was  to  raise 
from  the  desert  and  an  idea  make  great.  This  fancy 
Potemkin,  who  stood  ready  to  flatter  the  empress  at 
any  price,  undertook  to  realize,  and  he  built  her  a 
city  in  the  fashion  in  which  cities  were  built  in  the 
220 


A   MAGICAL   TRANSFORMATION   SCENE.  221 

times  of  the  Arabian  Nights,  and  made  it  flourish 
in  the  same  unsubstantial  fashion.  The  magnificent 
Potemkin  never  hesitated  b'efore  any  question  of  cost. 
Eussia  was  rich,  and  could  bleed  freely  to  please  the 
empress's  whim.  He  therefore  ordered  a  city  to  be 
built,  with  dwellings  and  edifices  of  every  description 
common  to  the  cities  of  that  date, — stores,  palaces, 
public  halls,  private  residences  in  profusion.  The 
buildings  ready,  he  sought  for  citizens,  and  forcibly 
drove  the  people  from  all  quarters  to  take  up  a  tem- 
porary residence  within  its  walls.  It  was  his  one 
purpose  to  make  a  spectacle  of  this  theatrical  city 
to  enchant  the  eyes  of  the  empress.  So  that  it  had 
an  appearance  of  prosperity  during  her  visit,  he  cared 
not  a  fig  if  it  fell  to  pieces  and  its  inhabitants  van- 
ished as  soon  as  his  supporting  hand  was  removed. 
He  only  required  that  the  scenes  should  be  set  and 
the  actors  in  place  when  the  curtain  rose. 

And  the  city  grew,  on  the  banks  of  the  Dnieper, 
eighteen  million  rubles  being  granted  by  the  empress 
for  its  cost, — though  much  of  this  clung  to  the  bird- 
lime of  avarice  on  Potemkin's  fingers.  It  was  named 
Kherson.  The  desert  around  it  was  erected  into  a 
province,  entitled  by  the  wily  minister  Catharine's 
Glory  (Slava  Ekatarina).  Another  province,  farther 
north,  he  named  after  his  imperial  mistress  Ekata- 
rinoslaf.  And  thus,  by  fraud  and  violence,  a  city  to 
order  was  brought  into  existence.  The  stage  was 
ready.  The  next  thing  to  be  done  was  to  raise  the 
curtain  which  hid  it  from  Catharine's  eyes. 

It  was  early  in  the  year  1787  that  the  empress  be- 
gan her  journey  towards  her  Utopian  city,  to  receive 


222  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

the  homage  of  its  citizens  and  to  exhibit  to  the  world 
the  magnificence  of  her  reign.  Great  projects  were 
in  the  air.  Poland  had  just  been  cut  into  fragments 
and  distributed  among  the  hungry  kingdoms  around. 
The  same  was  to  be  done  with  Turkey.  Joseph  II. 
of  Austria  was  to  meet  the  empress  in  Kherson  to 
consult  upon  this  partition  of  the  Turkish  empire ; 
while  Constantine,  grand  duke  of  Eussia  and  grand- 
son of  the  empress,  was  to  reign  at  Byzantium,  or 
Constantinople,  over  the  new  empire  carved  from  the 
Turkish  realm.  Such  was  the  paper  programme  pre- 
pared by  Potemkin  and  the  empress,  the  minister 
doubtless  smiling  behind  his  sleeve,  his  mistress  in 
solid  earnest. 

And  now  we  have  the  story  to  tell  of  one  of  the 
most  marvellous  journeys  ever  undertaken.  It  was 
made  through  a  thinly  inhabited  wilderness,  which 
to  the  belief  of  the  empress  was  to  be  converted  into 
a  populous  and  thriving  realm.  That  the  journey 
might  proceed  by  night  as  well  as  by  day,  great  piles 
of  wood  were  prepared  at  intervals  of  fifty  perches, 
whose  leaping  flames  gave  to  the  high-road  a  bright- 
ness like  that  of  day.  In  six  days  Smolensk  was 
reached,  and  in  twenty  days  the  old  Eussian  capital 
of  Kief,  where  the  procession  halted  for  a  season 
before  proceeding  towards  its  goal. 

As  it  went  on,  the  whole  country  became  trans- 
formed. The  deserts  were  suddenly  peopled,  pal- 
aces awaited  the  train  in  the  trackless  wild,  tem- 
porary villages  hid  the  nakedness  of  the  plain,  and 
fireworks  at  night  testified  to  the  seeming  joy  of 
the  populace.    "Wide  roads  were  opened  by  the  army 


A   MAGICAL   TRANSFORMATION   SCENE.  223 

in  advance  of  the  cortege,  the  mountains  were  illu- 
minated as  it  passed,  howling  wildernesses  were  made 
to  appear  like  fertile  gardens,  and  great  flocks  and 
herds,  gathered  from  distant  pastures,  delighted  the 
eyes  of  the  empress  with  the  appearance  of  thrift 
and  prosperity  as  her  vehicle  drove  rapidly  along 
the  roads.  To  the  charmed  eyes  of  those  not  "  to  the 
manner  born"  the  whole  country  seemed  populous 
and  prosperous,  the  people  joyous,  the  soil  fertile, 
the  land  smiling  with  abundance.  There  was  no 
hint  to  indicate  that  it  was  a  desert  covered  for  the 
time  being  by  an  enamelled  carpet. 

The  Dnieper  reached,  the  empress  and  her  train 
passed  down  that  river  in  fifteen  splendid  galleys, 
with  the  pomp  of  a  triumphal  procession.  It  was 
now  the  month  of  May,  and  the  banks  of  the  river 
showed  the  same  signs  of  prosperity  as  had  the  sides 
of  the  road.  At  Kaidack  the  emperor  Joseph  met 
the  empress,  having  reached  Kherson  in  advance  and 
gone  north  to  anticipate  her  coming.  He  accom- 
panied her  down  the  stream,  looking  with  her  on 
the  show  of  prosperity  and  populousness  which  de- 
lighted her  inexperienced  eyes,  and  smiling  covertly 
at  the  delusion  which  Potemkin's  magic  had  raised, 
well  assured  that  as  soon  as  she  had  passed  silence 
and  desertion  would  succeed  these  busy  scenes.  At  a 
new  projected  town  on  the  way,  of  which  Catharine 
had,  with  much  ceremony,  laid  the  first  stone,  Joseph 
was  asked  to  lay  the  second.  He  did  so,  afterwards 
saying  of  the  farcical  proceeding,  "  The  Empress  of 
Eussia  and  I  have  finished  a  very  important  business 
in  a  single  day :  she  has  laid  the  first  stone  of  a  city, 


224  HISTORICAL  TALES. 

and  I  have  laid  the  last."  He  had  no  doubt  that, 
when  they  had  gone,  the  buildings  in  which  they  had 
slept,  the  villages  which  they  had  seen,  the  wayside 
herders  and  flocks,  would  vanish  like  theatrical 
scenery,  and  the  country  present  the  dismal  aspect 
of  a  deserted  stage. 

At  length  the  new  city  was  reached,  the  magical 
Kherson.  Catharine  entered  it  in  grand  state,  under 
a  noble  triumphal  arch  inscribed  in  Greek  with  the 
words  "The  Way  to  Byzantium."  It  was  a  busy 
city  in  which  she  found  herself.  The  houses  were 
all  inhabited ;  shops,  filled  with  goods,  lined  the  prin- 
cipal streets ;  people  thronged  the  sidewalks,  spec- 
tators of  the  entry ;  luxury  of  every  kind  awaited 
the  empress  in  the  capital  which  had  arisen  for  her 
as  by  the  rubbing  of  Aladdin's  ring,  and  entertain- 
ments of  the  most  lavish  character  were  prepared 
by  the  potent  genius  to  whom  all  she  saw  was  due. 
Potemkin  hesitated  at  no  expense.  The  journey  had 
cost  the  empire  no  less  than  seven  milHons  of  rubles, 
fourteen  thousand  of  which  were  expended  on  the 
throne  built  for  the  empress  in  what  was  named  the 
admiralty  of  Kherson. 

Such  was  the  scenery  prepared  for  one  of  the 
most  theatrical  events  the  world  has  ever  witnessed. 
It  cost  the  empire  dearly,  but  Potemkin's  purpose 
was  achieved.  He  had  charmed  the  empress  by 
causing  the  desert  to  "  blossom  like  the  rose,"  and 
after  the  spectators  had  passed  all  sank  again  into 
silence  and  emptiness.  The  new  empire  of  Byzan- 
tium remained  a  dream.  Turkey  had  not  been  con- 
sulted in  the  project,  and  was  not  quite  ready  to 


A   MAGICAL  TRANSFORMATION   SCENE.  225 

consent  to  be  dismembered  to  gratify  the  whim  of 
empress  and  emperor. 

As  for  the  city  of  Kherson,  its  site  was  badly 
chosen,  and  its  seeming  prosperity  and  populousness 
during  the  empress's  presence  quickly  passed  away. 
The  city  has  remained,  but  its  actual  growth  has 
been  gradual,  and  it  has  been  thrown  into  the  shade 
by  Odessa,  a  port  founded  some  years  later  without 
a  single  flourish  of  trumpets,  but  which  has  now 
grown  to  be  the  fourth  city  of  Eussia  in  size  and 
importance.  Of  late  years  Kherson  has  shown  some 
signs  of  increase,  but  all  we  need  say  further  of  it 
here  is  that  it  has  the  honor  of  being  the  burial- 
place  of  the  shrewd  Potemkin,  under  whose  foster- 
ing hand  it  burst  into  such  premature  bloom  in  its 
early  days. 


16 


KOSCIUSKO  AND    THE  FALL   OF 
POLAND, 

Op  the  several  nations  that  made  up  the  Europe 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  one,  the  kingdom  of  Po- 
land, vanished  before  the  nineteenth  century  began. 
Destitute  of  a  strong  central  government,  the  scene 
of  continual  anarchy  among  the  turbulent  nobles, 
possessing  no  national  frontiers  and  no  national 
middle  class,  its  population  being  made  up  of  nobles, 
serfs,  and  foreigners,  it  lay  at  the  mercy  of  the  am- 
bitious surrounding  kingdoms,  by  which  it  was  finally 
absorbed.  On  three  successive  occasions  was  the  ter- 
ritory of  the  feeble  nation  divided  between  its  foes, 
the  first  partition  being  made  in  1772,  between  Eussia, 
Prussia,  and  Austria  ,•  the  second  in  1793,  between 
Eussia  and  Prussia ;  and  the  third  and  final  in  1795, 
in  which  Eussia,  Prussia,  and  Austria  again  took 
part,  all  that  remained  of  the  country  being  now  dis- 
tributed and  the  ancient  kingdom  of  Poland  efiaced 
from  the  map  of  Europe. 

Only  one  vigorous  attempt  was  made  to  save  the 
imperilled  realm,  that  of  the  illustrious  Kosciusko, 
who,  though  he  failed  in  his  patriotic  purpose,  made 
his  name  famous  as  the  noblest  of  the  Poles.  When 
he  appeared  at  the  head  of  its  armies,  Poland  was 
in  a  desperate  strait.  Some  of  its  own  nobles  had 
been  bought  by  Eussian  goldj  Eussian  armies  had 
226 


KOSCIUSKO  AND  THE  FALL  OP  POLAND.     227 

overrun  the  land,  and  a  Prussian  force  was  marching 
to  their  aid.  At  Grodno  the  Kussian  general  proudly 
took  his  seat  on  that  throne  which  he  was  striving 
to  overthrow.  The  defenders  of  Poland  had  been 
dispersed,  their  property  confiscated,  their  families 
reduced  to  poverty.  The  Eussians.  swarming  through 
the  kingdom,  committed  the  greatest  excesses,  while 
Warsaw,  which  had  fallen  into  their  hands,  was  gov- 
erned with  arrogant  barbarity.  Such  was  the  state 
of  affairs  when  some  of  the  most  patriotic  of  the 
nobles  assembled  and  sent  to  Kosciusko,  asking  him 
to  put  himself  at  their  head. 

As  a  young  man  this  valiant  Pole  had  aided  in  the 
war  for  American  independence.  In  1792  he  took 
part  in  the  war  for  the  defence  of  his  native  land. 
But  he  declared  that  there  could  be  no  hope  of  suc- 
cess unless  the  peasants  were  given  their  liberty. 
Hitherto  they  had  been  treated  in  Poland  like  slaves. 
It  was  with  these  despised  serfs  that  this  effort  was 
made. 

In  1794  the  insurrection  broke  out.  Kosciusko, 
finding  that  the  country  was  ripe  for  revolt  against 
its  oppressors,  hastened  from  Italy,  whither  he  had 
retired,  and  appeared  at  Cracow,  where  he  was  hailed 
as  the  coming  deliverer  of  the  land.  The  only  troops 
in  arms  were  a  small  force  of  about  four  thousand  in 
all,  who  were  joined  by  about  three  hundred  peas- 
ants armed  with  scythes.  These  were  soon  met  by 
an  army  of  seven  thousand  Eussians,  whom  they 
put  to  flight  after  a  sharp  engagement. 

The  news  of  this  battle  stirred  the  Eussian  gen- 
eral in  command   at  Warsaw  to  active  measures. 


228  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

All  whom  he  suspected  of  favoring  the  insurrection 
were  arrested.  The  result  was  different  from  what 
he  had  expected.  The  city  blazed  into  insurrection, 
two  thousand  Eussians  fell  before  the  onslaught  of 
the  incensed  patriots,  and  their  general  saved  himself 
only  by  flight. 

The  outbreak  at  Warsaw  was  followed  by  one  at 
Yilna,  the  capital  of  Lithuania,  the  Eussians  here 
being  all  taken  prisoners.  Three  Polish  regiments 
mustered  into  the  Eussian  service  deserted  to  the 
army  of  their  compatriots,  and  far  and  wide  over  the 
country  the  flames  of  insurrection  spread. 

Kosciusko  rapidly  increased  his  forces  by  recruit- 
ing the  peasantry,  whose  dress  he  wore  and  whose 
food  he  shared  in.  But  these  men  distrusted  the 
nobles,  who  had  so  long  oppressed  them,  while  many 
of  the  latter,  eager  to  retain  their  valued  preroga- 
tives, worked  against  the  patriot  cause,  in  which 
they  were  aided  by  King  Stanislaus,  who  had  been 
subsidized  by  Eussian  gold. 

To  put  down  this  effort  of  despair  on  the  part  of 
the  Poles,  Catharine  of  Eussia  sent  fresh  armies  to 
Poland,  led  by  her  ablest  generals.  Prussians  and 
Austrians  also  joined  in  the  movement  for  enslave- 
ment, Frederick  William  of  Prussia  fighting  at  the 
head  of  his  troops  against  the  Polish  patriot.  Kos- 
ciusko had  established  a  provisional  government,  and 
faced  his  foes  boldly  in  the  field.  Defeated,  he  fell 
back  on  Warsaw,  where  he  valiantly  maintained  him- 
self until  threatened  by  two  new  Eussian  armies, 
whom  he  marched  out  to  meet,  in  the  hope  of  pro- 
venting  their  junction. 


KOSCIUSKO   AND   THE   FALL   OP   POLAND.  229 

The  decisive  battle  took  place  at  Maciejowice,  in 
October,  1794.  Kosciusko,  though  pressed  by  supe- 
rior forces,  fought  with  the  greatest  valor  and  des- 
peration. His  men  at  length,  overpowered  by  num- 
bers, were  in  great  part  cut  to  pieces  or  obliged  to 
yield,  while  their  leader,  covered  with  wounds,  fell 
into  the  hands  of  his  foes.  It  is  said  that  he  ex- 
claimed, on  seeing  all  hopes  at  an  end,  "  Finis  Po- 
loniae !"  In  the  words  of  the  poet  Byron,  "  Freedom 
shrieked  when  Kosciusko  fell." 

Warsaw  still  held  out.  Here  all  who  had  escaped 
from  the  field  took  refuge,  occupying  Praga,  the 
eastern  suburb  of  the  city,  where  twenty-six  thou- 
sand Poles,  with  over  one  hundred  cannon  and  mor- 
tars, defended  the  bridges  over  the  Vistula.  Suwar- 
row,  the  greatest  of  the  Eussian  generals,  was  quickly 
at  the  city  gates.  He  was  weaker,  both  in  men  and 
in  guns,  than  the  defenders  of  the  city ;  but  with  his 
wonted  impetuosity  he  resolved  to  employ  the  same 
tactics  which  he  had  more  than  once  used  against 
the  Turks,  and  seek  to  carry  the  Polish  lines  at  the 
bayonet's  point. 

After  a  two  days'  cannonade,  he  ordered  the  as- 
sault at  daybreak  of  November  4.  A  desperate  con- 
flict continued  during  the  five  succeeding  hours,  end- 
ing in  the  carrying  of  the  trenches  and  the  defeat 
of  the  garrison.  The  Kussians  now  poured  into  the 
suburb,  where  a  scene  of  frightful  carnage  began. 
JSTot  only  men  in  arms,  but  old  men,  women,  and 
children  were  ruthlessly  slaughtered,  the  wooden 
houses  set  on  fire,  the  bridges  broken  down,  and  the 
throng  of  helpless  people  who  sought  to  escape  into 


230  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

the  city  driven  ruthlessly  into  the  waters  of  the 
Vistula.  In  this  butchery  not  only  ten  thousand  sol- 
diers, but  twelve  thousand  citizens  of  every  age  and 
sex  were  remorselessly  slain. 

On  the  following  day  the  city  capitulated,  and  on 
the  6th  the  Eussian  victors  marched  into  its  streets. 
It  was,  as  Kosciusko  had  said,  "  the  end  of  Poland." 
The  troops  were  disarmed,  the  officers  were  seized  as 
prisoners,  and  the  feeble  king  was  nominally  raised 
again  to  the  head  of  the  kingdom,  so  soon  to  be 
swept  from  existence.  For  a  year  Suwarrow  held 
a  military  court  in  Warsaw,  far  eclipsing  the  king 
in  the  splendor  of  his  surroundings.  By  the  close 
of  1795  all  was  at  an  end.  The  small  remnant  left 
of  the  kingdom  was  parted  between  the  greedy 
aspirants,  and  on  the  1st  of  January,  1796,  Warsaw 
was  handed  over  to  Prussia,  to  whose  share  of  the 
spoils  it  appertained. 

In  this  arbitrary  manner  was  a  kingdom  which 
had  an  area  of  nearly  three  hundred  thousand  square 
miles  and  a  population  of  twelve  millions,  and  whose 
history  dated  back  to  the  tenth  century,  removed 
from  the  map  of  the  world,  while  the  heavy  hand 
of  oppression  fell  upon  all  who  dared  to  speak  or  act 
in  its  behalf.  One  bold  stroke  for  freedom  was  after- 
wards made,  but  it  ended  as  before,  and  Poland  is 
now  but  a  name. 


SUWARROW    THE    UNCONQUER- 
ABLE, 

Of  men  born  for  battle,  to  whose  ears  the  roar 
of  cannon  and  the  clash  of  sabres  are  the  only 
music,  the  smoke  of  conflict  their  native  atmosphere, 
Suwarrow  (Suvarof,  to  give  him  his  Eussian  name) 
stands  among  the  foremost.  A  little,  wrinkled, 
stooping  man,  five  feet  four  inches  in  height  and 
sickly  in  appearance,  he  was  the  last  to  whom  one 
would  have  looked  for  great  deeds  in  war  or  mighty 
exploits  in  the  embattled  field.  Yet  he  had  the  soul 
of  a  hero  in  his  diminutive  frame,  and  even  as  a  boy 
the  passion  for  military  glory  fired  his  heart,  Caesar 
and  Charles  XII.  of  Sweden  (from  which  country 
his  ancestors  came)  being  the  heroes  worshipped  by 
his  youthful  imagination.  Born  in  1729,  he  entered 
the  army  as  a  private  at  seventeen,  but  rapidly  rose 
fi'om  the  ranks,  made  himself  famous  in  the  Seven 
Years'  War  and  in  the  Polish  war  of  1768-71,  and 
from  that  time  until  death  put  an  end  to  his  career 
was  almost  constantly  in  the  field.  Napoleon,  against 
whose  armies  he  fought  in  his  later  days,  was  not 
more  enraptured  with  the  breath  of  battle  than  was 
this  war-dog  of  the  Eussian  army. 

Diminutive  and  sickly  as  he  looked,  Suwarrow 
was  strong  and  hardy,  and  so  inured  to  hardship 


232  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

that  the  severity  of  the  Eussian  climate  failed  to 
affect  his  vigorous  frame.  Disdaining  luxury,  and 
ignoring  comfort,  he  lived  like  the  soldiers  under 
his  command,  preferring  to  sleep  on  a  truss  of 
hay,  and  accepting  every  privation  which  his  men 
might  be  called  on  to  endure.  Though  he  was  a 
man  of  high  intelligence,  a  clever  linguist,  and  a  dili- 
gent reader  even  when  on  campaign,  yet  he  flattered 
the  superstitions  of  the  soldiers,  and  was  ready  to 
kneel  and  pray  before  every  wayside  image,  even 
when  the  roads  were  deep  with  mud. 

In  his  ordinary  manners  he  carried  eccentricity 
to  an  extravagant  extent,  was  brusque  and  curt  in 
speech,  often  to  the  verge  of  insult,  laconic  in  his 
despatches,  and — a  soldier  in  grain — treated  with 
stinging  sarcasm  all  whose  lack  of  activity  or  of 
courage  invited  his  contempt.  It  was  by  this  spirit 
that  he  incurred  the  enmity  of  the  Emperor  Paul, 
when,  in  his  half-mad  thirst  for  change,  the  latter 
attempted  to  change  the  native  dress  of  the  Eussian 
soldier  for  the  ancient  attire  of  Germany.  His  fair 
locks,  which  the  Eussian  was  used  to  wash  every 
morning,  he  was  now  bidden  to  bedaub  with  grease 
and  flour,  while  he  energetically  cursed  the  black 
spatterdashes  which  it  took  him  an  hour  to  button 
every  morning.  Orders  to  establish  these  novelties 
among  his  men  were  sent  to  Suwarrow,  then  in  Italy 
with  the  army,  the  directions  being  accompanied 
with  little  sticks  for  models  of  the  tails  and  side 
curls  in  which  the  soldiers'  hair  was  to  be  arranged. 
The  old  warrior's  lips  curled  contemptuously  on 
seeing  these  absurd  devices,  and  he  growled  out  in 


SUWARROW   THE   UNCONQUERABLE.  233 

his  curt  fashion,  "  Hair-powder  is  not  gunpowder ; 
curls  are  not  cannon ;  and  tails  are  not  bayonets." 

This  sarcastic  utterance,  which  forms  a  sort  of 
rhyming  verse  in  the  Russian  tongue,  got  abroad,  and 
spread  from  mouth  to  mouth  through  the  army  like 
a  choice  morsel  of  Wit.  The  czar,  to  whose  ears  it 
came,  heard  it  with  deep  offence.  Soon  after  Suwar- 
row  was  recalled  from  the  army,  on  another  plea, 
and  on  his  return  to  St.  Petersburg  was  not  per- 
mitted to  see  the  emperor's  face.  This  injustice 
may  have  been  a  cause  of  his  death,  which  occurred 
shortly  after  his  return,  on  May  18,  1800.  No  cour- 
tier of  the  Russian  court,  and  no  diplomatist,  except 
the  English  ambassador,  followed  the  war-worn  vet- 
eran to  the  grave. 

Suwarrow  was  the  idol  of  his  men,  whose  favorite 
title  for  him  was  "  Father  Suvarof,"  and  who  were 
ready  at  command  to  follow  him  to  the  cannon's 
mouth.  In  all  his  long  career  he  never  lost  a  battle, 
and  only  once  in  his  life  of  war  acted  on  the  defen- 
sive. With  a  superb  faith  in  his  own  star,  the  in- 
spiration of  the  moment  served  him  for  counsel,  and 
rapidity  of  movement  and  boldness  and  dash  in  the 
onset  brought  him  many  a  victory  where  delibera- 
tion might  have  led  to  defeat. 

A  striking  instance  of  this,  and  of  his  usual  brusque 
eccentricity,  took  place  in  1799  in  Italy,  where  Su- 
warrow was  placed  in  command  of  all  the  allied 
troops.  This  raising  of  a  Russian  to  the  supreme 
command  excited  the  jealousy  of  the  Austrian  gen- 
erals, and  they  called  a  council  of  war  to  examine 
his  plans  for  the  campaign.     The  members  of  the 


234  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

council,  the  youngest  first,  gave  their  views  as  to 
the  conduct  of  the  war.  Suwarrow  listened  in  grim 
silence  until  they  had  all  spoken,  and  had  turned  to 
him  for  his  comment  on  their  views.  The  wrinkled 
veteran  drew  to  himself  a  slate,  and  made  on  it  two 
lines. 

"  Here,  gentlemen,"  he  said,  pointing  to  one  line, 
"are  the  French,  and  here  are  the  Kussians.  The 
latter  will  march  against  the  former  and  beat  them." 
This  said,  he  rubbed  out  the  French  line.  Then, 
looking  up  at  his  surprised  auditors,  he  curtly  re- 
marked, "  This  is  all  my  plan.    The  council  is  ended." 

In  war  he  is  said  to  have  been  averse  to  the  shed- 
ding of  blood,  and  to  have  been  at  heart  humane  and 
merciful.  Yet  this  hardly  accords  with  the  story  of 
his  exploits,  it  being  said  that  twenty-six  thousand 
Turks  were  killed  in  the  storming  of  Ismail,  while  in 
that  of  Praga  at  Warsaw  more  than  twenty  thousand 
Poles  were  massacred. 

•  Such  was  the  character  of  one  of  the  men  who 
aided  to  make  glorious  the  reign  of  Catharine  of 
Russia,  and  whose  merit  she — unlike  her  weak  son 
Paul — was  fully  competent  to  appreciate.  With  this 
estimate  of  the  greatest  soldier  Russia  has  ever  pro- 
duced, and  one  of  the  ablest  generals  of  modern  times, 
we  may  briefly  describe  some  of  the  most  striking 
exploits  of  Suwarrow's  career. 

In  1789,  during  one  of  the  interminable  wars 
against  Turkey,  in  which  on  this  occasion  the  Aus- 
trians  took  part  with  the  Russians,  the  Prince  of 
Coburg  was  at  the  head  of  an  Austrian  force,  which 
he  was  strikingly  incapable  of  commanding.    The 


SUWARROW   THE   UNCONQUERABLE.  235 

prince,  advancing  with  sublime  deliberation,  found 
himself  suddenly  threatened  by  a  considerable  Turk- 
ish army.  Filled  with  alarm  at  the  sight  of  the  en- 
emy, he  sent  a  hasty  appeal  to  Suwarrow  to  come  to 
his  aid. 

The  Eussian  general  had  just  rejoined  his  army 
after  recovering  from  a  wound.  The  news  of  Co- 
burg's  peril  reached  him  at  Belat,  in  Moldavia,  be- 
tween forty  and  fifty  miles  away,  and  these  miles 
of  mountains,  ravines,  and  almost  impassable  wilds. 
Suwarrow  at  once  broke  camp,  and  with  his  usual 
impetuosity  led  his  army  over  its  difficult  route, 
reaching  the  Austrians  in  less  than  thirty-six  hours 
after  receiving  the  news. 

It  was  five  o'clock  in  the  evening  when  he  arrived. 
At  eleven  he  sent  his  plan  of  attack  to  the  prince. 
An  assault  on  the  enemy  was  to  be  made  at  two  in 
the  morning.  Coburg,  who  had  never  dreamed  of 
such  rapidity  of  movement  and  such  impetuosity  in 
action,  was  utterly  astounded.  In  complete  bewil- 
derment, he  sought  Suwarrow  at  his  quarters,  going 
there  three  times  without  finding  him.  The  supreme 
command  belonged  to  him  as  the  older  general,  but 
he  had  the  sense  not  to  claim  it,  and  to  act  as  a  sub- 
ordinate to  his  abler  ally.  In  an  hour  after  the  ad- 
vance began  the  allied  armies  were  in  the  Turkish 
camp,  and  the  Turks,  though  much  outnumbering 
their  assailants,  were  in  full  flight.  All  their  stores, 
a  hundred  standards,  and  seventy  pieces  of  artillery 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  victors. 

Suwarrow  returned  to  Moldavia,  and  Coburg  looked 
quietly  on  while  the  Turks  collected  a  new  army. 


236  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

In  less  than  two  months  he  found  himself  confronted 
by  a  hundred  thousand  men.  In  new  alarm,  he 
hastily  sent  again  to  Suwarrow  for  aid. 

In  two  days  the  Eussian  army  had  reached  the 
Austrian  camp,  which  the  enemy  was  just  about  to 
attack.  The  Turks  had  neglected  to  fortify  their 
camp  before  offering  battle.  Of  this  oversight  the 
keen-eyed  Eussian  took  instant  advantage,  attacked 
them  in  their  unfinished  trenches,  and,  as  before, 
took  their  camp  by  storm, — though  after  a  more 
stubborn  defence  than  in  the  previous  instance.  The 
Turkish  army  was  again  dispersed,  immense  booty 
was  taken,  and  Suwarrow  received  for  his  valor  the 
title  of  a  count  of  the  Austrian  empire,  while  the 
empress  Catharine  gave  him  in  reward  the  honor- 
able surname  of  Eimniksky,  from  the  name  of  the 
river  on  which  the  battle  had  been  fought. 

The  next  great  exploit  of  Suwarrow  was  per- 
formed at  Ismail,  a  Turkish  town  which  Potemkin 
had  been  besieging  for  seven  months.  The  prime 
minister  at  length  grew  impatient  at  the  delay,  and 
determined  on  more  effective  measures.  Living 
in  a  luxury  in  his  camp  that  contrasted  strangely 
with  the  sparse  conditions  of  Suwarrow,  Potemkin 
was  surrounded  by  courtiers  and  ladies,  who  made 
strenuous  efforts  to  furnish  the  great  man  with 
amusement.  One  of  the  ladies,  handling  a  pack  of 
cards,  from  which  she  laughingly  pretended  to  be 
able  to  read  the  secrets  of  destiny,  proclaimed  that 
he  would  be  in  possession  of  the  town  at  the  end  of 
three  weeks. 

"  You  are  not  bad  at  prediction,"  said  Potemkin, 


SUW ARROW  THE  UNCONQUERABLE.  237 

with  a  smile,  "but  I  have  a  method  of  divination 
far  more  infallible.  My  prediction  is  that  I  will 
have  the  town  in  three  days." 

He  at  once  sent  orders  to  Suwarrow,  who  was  at 
Galatz,  to  come  and  take  the  town. 

The  obedient  warrior,  who  seemed  to  be  always 
at  somebody's  beck  and  call,  quickly  appeared  and 
surveyed  the  situation.  His  first  steps  seemed  to 
indicate  that  he  proposed  to  continue  the  siege,  the 
troops  being  formed  into  a  besieging  army  of  about 
forty  thousand  men,  while  the  Eussian  fleet  was 
ordered  up  to  the  town.  But  the  deliberation  of  a 
siege  never  accorded  with  Suwarrow's  ardent  humor. 
His  real  purpose  was  to  take  the  place  by  storm.  He 
had  taken  Otchakof  in  this  way  the  previous  year 
with  heavy  loss,  and  with  the  slaughter  of  twenty 
thousand  Turks.  He  now,  on  the  21st  of  Septem- 
ber, twice  summoned  the  city  to  surrender,  threat- 
ening the  people  with  the  fate  of  Otchakof.  They 
refused  to  yield,  and  the  assault  began  at  four  o'clock 
of  the  following  morning. 

Battalion  after  battalion  was  hurled  against  the 
walls :  the  slaughter  from  the  Turkish  fire  was  fright- 
ful, but  the  stern  commander  hurled  ever  new  hosts 
into  the  pit  of  death,  and  about  eight  o'clock  the 
summit  of  the  walls  was  reached.  But  the  work 
was  yet  only  begun.  The  city  was  defended  street 
by  street,  house  by  house.  It  was  noon  before  the 
Kussians,  fighting  their  way  through  a  desperate  re- 
sistance, reached  the  market-place,  where  were  gath- 
ered a  body  of  the  Tartars  of  the  Crimea.  For  two 
hours  these  fought  fiercely  for  their  lives,  and  after 


238  HISTORICAL  TALES. 

they  had  all  fallen  the  Turks  kept  up  the  conflict 
with  equal  desperation  in  the  streets.  At  length  the 
gates  were  thrown  open  and  Suwarrow  sent  his  cav- 
alry into  the  city,  who  charged  through  the  streets, 
cutting  down  all  whom  they  met.  It  was  four  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon  when  the  butchery  ended,  after 
which  the  city  was  given  up  for  three  days  to  the 
mercy  of  the  troops.  According  to  the  official  re- 
port, the  Turks  lost  forty-three  thousand  in  killed 
and  prisoners,  the  Eussians  forty-five  hundred  in 
all ;  the  one  estimate  probably  as  much  too  large  as 
the  other  was  too  small. 

We  may  conclude  with  the  story  of  Suwarrow's 
career  in  Italy  and  Switzerland  against  the  armies 
of  the  French  republic.  The  plan  which  the  Eus- 
sian  conqueror  had  marked  out  on  the  slate  for 
the  Austrian  generals  was  literally  fulfilled.  In  less 
than  three  months  he  had  cleared  Lombardy  and 
Piedmont  of  the  troops  of  France.  He  forced  the 
passage  of  the  Adda  against  Moreau  and  his  army, 
compelling  the  French  to  abandon  Milan,  which  he 
entered  in  triumph.  His  next  success  was  at  Turin, 
a  depot  of  French  supplies,  towards  which  Moreau 
was  hastily  advancing.  The  Eussians  took  the  city 
by  surprise,  driving  the  French  garrison  into  the 
citadel,  and  capturing  three  hundred  cannons  and 
enormous  quantities  of  muskets,  ammunition,  and 
military  stores.  The  French  army  was  saved  from 
ruin  only  by  the  great  ability  of  its  commander,  who 
led  it  to  Genoa  in  four  days  over  a  mountain  path. 

The  czar  Paul  rewarded  his  victorious  general 
with  the  honorable  designation  of  Italienski,  or  the 


SUWARROW   THE   UNCONQUERABLE.  239 

Italian,  and,  in  bis  grandiloquent  fashion,  issued  a 
ukase  commanding  all  people  to  regard  Suwarrow  as 
the  greatest  commander  the  world  had  ever  known. 

We  cannot  describe  the  whole  course  of  events. 
Other  victories  were  won  in  Italy,  but  finally  Su- 
warrow was  weakened  by  the  jealousy  of  the  Aus- 
trians,  who  withdrew  their  troops,  and  subsequently 
was  obliged  to  go  to  the  relief  of  his  fellow-com- 
mander, Korsakof,  who,  with  twenty  thousand  men, 
had  imprudently  allowed  himself  to  be  hemmed  in 
by  a  French  army  at  Zurich.  He  finally  forced  his 
way  through  the  enemy,  losing  all  his  artillery  and 
half  his  host. 

Of  this  Suwarrow  knew  nothing,  as  he  made  his 
way  across  the  Alps  to  the  aid  of  the  beleaguered 
general.  He  attempted  to  force  his  way  over  the 
St.  Gothard  pass,  meeting  with  fierce  opposition  at 
every  point.  There  was  a  sharp  fight  at  the  Devil's 
Bridge,  which  the  French  blew  up,  but  failed  to 
keep  back  Suwarrow  and  his  men,  who  crossed  the 
rocky  gorge  of  the  XJnerloch,  dashed  through  the 
foaming  Eeuss,  and  drove  the  French  from  their 
post  of  vantage. 

At  length,  with  his  men  barefoot,  his  provisions 
almost  exhausted,  the  Kussian  general  reached 
Muotta,  to  find  to  his  chagrin  that  Korsakof  had 
been  defeated  and  put  to  flight.  He  at  once  began 
his  retreat,  followed  in  force  by  Massena,  who  was 
driven  off  by  the  rear-guard.  On  October  1  Su- 
warrow reached  Glarus.  Here  he  rested  till  the  4th, 
then  crossed  the  Panixer  Mountains  through  snow 
two  feet  deep  to  the  valley  of  the  Ehine,  which  he 


240  HISTORICAL  TALES. 

reached  on  the  10th,  having  lost  two  hundred  of  his 
men  and  all  his  beasts  of  burden  over  the  precipices. 
Thus  ended  this  extraordinary  march,  which  had  cost 
Suwarrow  all  his  artillery,  nearly  all  his  horses,  and 
a  third  of  his  men. 

These  losses  in  the  Eussian  armies  stirred  the  czar 
to  immeasurable  rage.  All  the  missing  oflScers — who 
were  prisoners  in  France — were  branded  as  deserters, 
and  Suwarrow  was  deprived  of  his  command,  osten- 
sibly for  his  failure,  but  largely  for  the  sarcasm  al- 
ready mentioned.  He  returned  home  to  die,  having 
experienced  what  a  misfortune  it  is  for  a  great  man 
to  be  at  the  mercy  of  a  fool  in  authority. 


THE  RETREAT  OF  NAPOLEON'S 
GRAND  ARMY. 

In  the  spring  of  1812  Napoleon  reached  the 
frontiers  of  Eussia  at  the  head  of  the  greatest  army 
that  had  ever  been  under  his  command,  it  embracing 
half  a  million  of  men.  It  was  not  an  army  of  French- 
men, however,  since  much  more  than  half  the  total 
force  was  made  up  of  Germans  and  soldiers  of  other 
nationalities.  In  addition  to  the  soldiery  was  a  mul- 
titude of  non-combatants  and  other  incumbrances, 
which  Napoleon,  deviating  from  his  usual  custom, 
allowed  to  follow  the  troops.  These  were  made  up 
of  useless  aids  to  the  pomp  and  luxury  of  the  em- 
peror and  his  officers,  and  an  incredible  number  of 
private  vehicles,  women,  servants,  and  others,  who 
served  but  to  create  confusion,  and  to  consume  the 
army  stores,  of  which  provision  had  been  made  for 
only  a  short  campaign. 

Thus,  dragging  its  slow  length  along,  the  army, 
on  June  24,  1812,  crossed  the  Niemen  Eiver  and  en- 
tered upon  Eussian  soil.  From  emperor  to  private, 
all  were  inspired  with  exaggerated  hopes  of  victory, 
and  looked  soon  to  see  the  mighty  empire  of  the 
north  prostrate  before  the  genius  of  all-conquering 
France.  Had  the  vision  of  that  army,  as  it  was  to 
recross  the  Niemen  within  six  months,  risen  upon 

16  241 


242  HISTORICAL  TALES. 

their  minds,  it  would  have  been  dismissed  as  a  night- 
mare of  false  and  monstrous  mien. 

Onward  into  Eussia  wound  the  vast  and  hopeful 
mass,  without  a  battle  and  without  sight  of  a  foe. 
The  Eussians  were  retreating  and  drawing  their  foes 
deeper  and  deeper  into  the  heart  of  their  desolate 
land.  Battles  were  not  necessary ;  the  country  itself 
fought  for  Eussia.  Food  was  not  to  be  had  from  the 
land,  which  was  devastated  in  their  track.  Burning 
cities  and  villages  lit  up  their  path.  The  carriages 
and  wagons,  even  many  of  the  cannon,  had  to  be 
left  behind.  The  forced  marches  which  Napoleon 
made  in  the  hope  of  overtaking  the  Eussians  forced 
him  to  abandon  much  of  his  supplies,  while  men  and 
horses  sank  from  fatigue  and  hunger.  The  decaying 
carcasses  of  ten  thousand  horses  already  poisoned 
the  air. 

At  length  Moscow  was  approached.  Here  the 
Eussian  leaders  were  forced  by  the  sentiment  of 
the  army  and  the  people  to  strike  one  blow  in 
defence  of  their  ancient  capital.  A  desperate  en- 
counter took  place  at  Borodino,  two  days'  march 
from  the  city,  in  which  Napoleon  triumphed,  but  at 
a  fearful  price.  Forty  thousand  men  had  fallen,  of 
whom  the  wounded  nearly  all  died  through  want 
and  neglect.  When  Moscow  was  reached,  it  proved 
to  be  deserted.  Napoleon  had  won  the  empty  shell 
of  a  city,  and  was  as  far  as  ever  from  the  conquest 
of  Eussia. 

It  is  not  our  purpose  here  to  give  the  starthng 
story  of  the  burning  of  Moscow,  the  sacrifice  of  a 
city  to  the  god  of  war.    Though  this  is  one  of  the 


THE  RETREAT  OP  NAPOLEON' S   GRAND  ARMY.      243 

most  thrilling  events  in  the  history  of  Eussia,  it  has 
already  been  told  in  this  series.*  We  are  concerned 
at  present  solely  with  the  retreat  of  the  grand  army 
from  the  ashes  of  the  Muscovite  capital,  the  most 
dreadful  retreat  in  the  annals  of  war. 

Napoleon  lingered  amid  the  ruins  of  the  ancient 
city  until  winter  was  near  at  hand,  hoping  still  that 
the  emperor  Alexander  would  sue  for  peace.  No 
suit  came.  He  offered  terms  himself,  and  they  were 
not  even  honored  with  a  reply.  A  deeply  disap- 
pointed man,  the  autocrat  of  Europe  marched  out 
of  Moscow  on  October  19  and  began  his  frightful 
homeward  march.  He  had  waited  much  too  long. 
The  Eussian  armies,  largely  increased  in  numbers, 
shut  him  out  from  every  path  but  the  wasted  one 
by  which  he  had  come,  a  highway  marked  by  the 
ashes  of  burnt  towns  and  the  decaying  corpses  of 
men  and  animals. 

On  November  6,  winter  suddenly  set  in.  The 
supplies  had  largely  been  consumed,  the  land  was 
empty  of  food,  famine  alternated  with  cold  to  crush 
the  retreating  host,  and  death  in  frightful  forms 
hovered  over  their  path.  The  horses,  half  fed  and 
worn  out,  died  by  thousands.  Most  of  the  cavalry 
had  to  go  afoot;  the  booty  brought  from  Moscow 
was  abandoned  as  valueless ;  even  much  of  the  artil- 
lery was  left  behind.  The  cold  grew  more  intense. 
A  deep  snow  covered  the  plain,  through  whose  white 
peril  they  had  to  drag  their  weary  feet.  Arms  were 
flung  away  as  useless  weights,  flight  was  the  only 

*  See  Historical  Tales  :  France. 


244  HISTORICAL  TALES. 

thought,  and  but  a  tithe  of  the  armj^  remained  in 
condition  to  defend  the  rest. 

The  retreat  of  the  grand  army  became  one  of  in- 
credible distress  and  suffering.  Over  the  seemingly- 
endless  Eussian  steppes,  from  whose  snow-clad  level 
only  rose  here  and  there  the  ruins  of  a  deserted  vil- 
lage, the  freezing  and  starving  soldiers  made  their 
miserable  way.  Wan,  hollow-eyed,  gaunt,  clad  in 
garments  through  which  the  biting  cold  pierced 
their  flesh,  they  dragged  wearily  onward,  fighting 
with  one  another  for  the  flesh  of  a  dead  horse,  ready 
to  commit  murder  for  the  shadow  of  food,  and  finally 
sinking  in  death  in  the  snows  of  that  intermina- 
ble plain.  Each  morning,  some  of  those  who  had 
stretched  their  limbs  round  the  bivouac  fires  failed 
to  rise.  The  victims  of  the  night  were  often  revealed 
only  by  the  small  mounds  of  fallen  snow  which  had 
buried  them  as  they  slept. 

That  this  picture  may  not  be  thought  overdrawn, 
we  shall  relate  an  anecdote  told  of  Prince  Emilius  of 
Darmstadt.  He  had  fallen  asleep  in  the  snow,  and 
in  order  to  protect  him  from  the  keen  north  wind 
four  of  his  Hessian  dragoons  screened  him  during  the 
night  with  their  cloaks.  The  prince  arose  from  his 
cold  couch  in  the  morning  to  find  his  faithful  guar- 
dians still  in  the  position  they  had  occupied  during 
the  night, — frozen  to  death. 

Maddened  with  famine  and  frost,  men  were  seen  to 
spring,  with  wildly  exulting  cries,  into  the  flames  of 
burning  houses.  Of  those  that  fell  into  the  hands 
of  the  Eussian  boors,  many  were  stripped  of  their 
clothing  and   chased   to  death  through  the   snow. 


THE   RETREAT   OF   NAPOLEON' S   GRAND   ARMY.      245 

Smolensk,  which  the  army  had  passed  in  its  glory, 
it  now  reached  in  its  gloom.  The  city  was  de- 
serted and  half  burned.  Most  of  the  cannon  had 
been  abandoned,  food  and  ammunition  were  lacking, 
and  no  halt  was  possible.  The  despairing  army 
pushed  on. 

Death  followed  the  fugitives  in  other  forms  than 
those  of  frost  and  hunger.  The  Eussians,  who  had 
avoided  the  army  in  its  advance,  harassed  it  contin- 
ually in  its  retreat.  From  all  directions  Eussian 
troops  marched  upon  the  worn-out  fugitives,  grimly 
determined  that  not  a  man  of  them  should  leave 
Eussia  if  they  could  prevent.  The  intrepid  Ney, 
with  the  men  still  capable  of  fight,  formed  the  rear- 
guard, and  kept  at  bay  their  foes.  This  service  was 
one  of  imminent  peril.  Cut  off  at  Smolensk  from 
the  main  body,  only  Ney's  vigilance  saved  his  men 
from  destruction.  During  the  night  he  led  them 
rapidly  along  the  banks  of  the  Dnieper,  repulsing 
the  Eussian  corps  that  sought  to  cut  off  his  retreat, 
and  joined  the  army  again. 

The  Beresina  at  length  was  reached.  This  river 
must  be  crossed.  But  the  frightful  chill,  which 
hitherto  had  pursued  the  fleeing  host,  now  inoppor- 
tunely decreased,  a  thaw  broke  the  frozen  surface  of 
the  stream,  and  the  fugitives  gazed  with  horror  on 
masses  of  floating  ice  where  they  had  dreamed  of  a 
solid  pathway  for  their  feet.  The  slippery  state  of 
the  banks  added  to  the  diflSculty,  while  on  the  oppo- 
site side  a  Eussian  army  commanded  the  passage 
with  its  artillery,  and  in  the  rear  the  roar  of  cannon 
signalled  the  approach  of  another  army.     All  seemed 


246  HISTORICAL  TALES. 

lost,  and  only  the  good  fortune  which  had  so  often 
befriended  him  now  saved  Napoleon  and  his  host. 

For  at  this  critical  moment  a  fresh  army  corps, 
which  had  been  left  behind  in  his  advance,  came  to 
the  emperor's  aid,  and  the  Russian  general  who  dis- 
puted the  passage,  deceived  by  the  French  move- 
ments, withdrew  to  another  point  on  the  stream. 
Taking  instant  advantage  of  the  opportunity,  Napo- 
leon threw  two  bridges  across  the  river,  over  which 
the  able-bodied  men  of  the  army  safely  made  their 
way. 

After  them  came  the  vast  host  of  non-combatants 
that  formed  the  rear,  choking  the  bridges  with  their 
multitude.  As  they  struggled  to  cross,  the  pursuing 
Eussian  army  appeared  and  opened  with  artillery 
upon  the  helpless  mass,  ploughing  long  red  lanes  of 
carnage  through  its  midst.  One  bridge  broke  down, 
and  all  rushed  to  the  other.  Multitudes  were  forced 
into  the  stream,  while  the  Russian  cannon  played  re- 
morselessly upon  the  struggling  and  drowning  mass. 
For  two  days  the  passage  had  continued,  and  on  the 
morning  of  the  third  a  considerable  number  of  sick 
and  wounded  soldiers,  sutlers,  women,  and  children 
still  remained  behind,  when  word  reached  them  that 
the  bridges  were  to  be  burned.  A  fearful  rush  now 
took  place.  Some  succeeded  in  crossing,  but  the  fire 
ran  rapidly  along  the  timbers,  and  the  despairing 
multitude  leaped  into  the  icy  river  or  sought  to  plunge 
through  the  mounting  flames.  When  the  ice  thawed 
in  the  spring  twelve  thousand  dead  bodies  were  found 
on  the  shores  of  the  stream.  Sixteen  thousand  of 
the  fugitives  remained  prisoners  in  Russian  hands. 


THE  RETREAT   OF   NAPOLEON^S   GRAND  ARMY.      247 

This  day  of  disaster  was  the  climax  of  the  fright- 
ful retreat.  But  as  the  army  pressed  onward  the 
temperature  again  fell,  until  it  reached  twenty-seven 
degrees  below  zero,  and  the  old  story  of  "  frozen  to 
death"  was  resumed.  Napoleon,  fearing  to  be  taken 
prisoner  in  Germany  if  the  truth  should  become 
known,  left  his  army  on  December  5,  and  hurried 
towards  Paris  with  all  speed,  leaving  the  news  of  the 
disaster  behind  in  his  flight.  Wilna  was  soon  after 
reached  by  the  army,  but  could  not  be  held  by  the 
exhausted  troops,  and,  with  its  crowded  magazines 
and  the  wealth  in  its  treasury,  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  Eussians. 

During  this  season  of  disaster  the  Austrian  and 
Prussian  commanders  left  behind  to  guard  the  route 
contrived  to  spare  their  troops.  Schwarzenberg, 
the  Austrian  commander,  retreated  towards  Warsaw 
and  left  the  Eussian  armies  free  to  act  against  the 
French.  The  Prussians,  who  had  been  engaged  in 
the  siege  of  Eiga,  might  have  covered  the  fleeing 
host;  but  York,  their  commander,  entered  into  a 
truce  with  the  Eussians  and  remained  stationary. 
They  had  been  forced  to  join  the  French,  and  took 
the  first  opportunity  to  abandon  their  hated  allies. 

A  place  of  safety  was  at  length  reached,  but  the 
grand  army  was  represented  by  a  miserable  fragment 
of  its  mighty  host.  Of  the  half- million  who  crossed 
the  Eussian  frontier,  but  eighty  thousand  returned. 
Of  those  who  had  reached  Moscow,  the  meagre  rem- 
nant numbered  scarcely  twenty  thousand  in  all. 


THE  DEATH-STRUGGLE  OF 
POLAND, 

The  French  revolution  of  1830  precipitated  a  simi- 
lar one  in  Poland.  The  rule  of  Russia  in  that  country 
had  been  one  of  outrage  and  oppression.  In  the 
words  of  the  Poles,  "personal  liberty,  which  had 
been  solemnly  guaranteed,  was  violated  ;  the  prisons 
were  crowded ;  courts-martial  were  appointed  to  de- 
cide in  civil  cases,  and  imposed  infamous  punish- 
ments upon  citizens  whose  only  crime  was  that  of 
having  attempted  to  save  from  corruption  the  spirit 
and  the  character  of  the  nation." 

On  the  29th  of  November  the  people  sprang  to 
arms  in  Warsaw  and  the  Russians  were  driven  out. 
Soon  after  a  dictator  was  chosen,  an  army  collected, 
and  Russian  Poland  everywhere  rose  in  revolt. 

It  was  a  hopeless  struggle  into  which  the  Polish 
patriots  had  entered.  In  all  Europe  there  was  not  a 
hand  lifted  in  their  aid.  Prussia  and  Austria  stood 
in  a  threatening  attitude,  each  with  an  army  of  sixty 
thousand  men  upon  the  frontiers,  ready  to  march  to 
the  aid  of  Russia  if  any  disturbance  took  place  in 
their  Polish  provinces.  Russia  invaded  the  country 
with  an  army  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand 
men,  a  force  more  than  double  that  which  Poland 
was  able  to  raise.  And  the  Polish  army  was  com- 
manded by  a  titled  incapable.  Prince  Radzivil,  chosen 
248 


THE   DEATH-STRIJGGLE   OF   POLAND.  249 

because  he  had  a  great  name,  regardless  of  his  lack 
of  ability  as  a  soldier.  Chlopicki,  his  aide,  was  a 
skilled  commander,  but  he  fought  with  his  hands 
tied. 

On  the  19th  of  February,  1831,  the  two  armies 
met  in  battle,  and  began  a  desperate  struggle  which 
lasted  with  little  cessation  for  six  days.  Warsaw 
lay  in  the  rear  of  the  Polish  army.  Behind  it  flowed 
the  Vistula,  with  but  a  single  bridge  for  escape  in 
case  of  defeat.  Victory  or  death  seemed  the  alter- 
natives of  the  patriot  force. 

The  struggle  was  for  the  Alder  Wood,  the  key  of 
the  position.  For  the  possession  of  this  forest  the 
fight  was  hand  to  hand.  Again  and  again  it  was 
lost  and  retaken.  On  the  25th,  the  final  day  of  bat- 
tle, it  was  held  by  the  Poles.  Forty -five  thousand 
in  number,  they  were  confronted  by  a  Eussian  army 
of  one  hundred  thousand  men.  Diebitsch,  the  Eus- 
sian commander,  determined  to  win  the  Alder  Wood 
at  any  cost.  Chlopicki  gave  orders  to  defend  it  to 
the  last  extremity. 

The  struggle  that  succeeded  was  desperate.  By 
sheer  force  of  numbers  the  Eussian  s  made  them- 
selves masters  of  the  wood.  Then  Chlopicki,  put- 
ting himself  at  the  head  of  his  grenadiers,  charged 
into  the  forest  depths,  driving  out  its  holders  at  the 
bayonet's  point.  Their  retreat  threw  the  whole  Eus- 
sian line  into  confusion.  Now  was  the  critical  mo- 
ment for  a  cavalry  charge.  Chlopicki  sent  orders  to 
the  cavalry  chief,  but  he  refused  to  move.  This  loss 
of  an  opportunity  for  victory  maddened  the  valiant 
leader.     "  Go  and  ask  Eadzivil,"  he  said  to  the  aides 


250  HISTORICAL  TALES. 

who  asked  for  orders ;  "  for  me,  I  seek  only  death." 
Plunging  into  the  ranks  of  the  enemy,  he  was 
wounded  by  a  shell,  and  borne  secretly  from  the 
field.  But  the  news  of  this  disaster  ran  through  the 
ranks  and  threw  the  whole  army  into  consternation. 

The  fall  of  the  gallant  Chlopicki  changed  the  tide 
of  battle.  Fiercely  struggling  still,  the  Poles  were 
driven  from  the  wood  and  hurled  back  upon  the 
Vistula.  A  battalion  of  recruits  crossed  the  river  on 
the  ice  and  carried  terror  into  Warsaw.  Crowds  of 
peasants,  heaps  of  dead  and  dying,  choked  the  ap- 
proach to  Praga,  the  outlying  suburb.  Night  fell 
upon  the  scene  of  disorder.  The  houses  of  Praga 
were  fired,  and  flames  lit  up  the  frightful  scene. 
Groans  of  agony  and  shrieks  of  despair  filled  the  air. 
The  streets  were  choked  with  debris,  but  workmen 
from  Warsaw  rushed  out  with  axes,  cleared  away  the 
ruin,  and  left  the  passages  free. 

Inspirited  by  this,  the  infantry  formed  in  line  and 
checked  the  charge  of  the  Eussian  horse.  The  Al- 
bert cuirassiers  rode  through  the  first  Polish  line, 
but  soon  found  their  horses  floundering  in  mud,  and 
themselves  attacked  by  lancers  and  pikemen  on  all 
sides.  Of  the  brilliant  and  daring  corps  scarce  a 
man  escaped. 

That  day  cost  the  Poles  five  thousand  men.  Of 
the  Eussians  more  than  ten  thousand  fell.  Eadzivil, 
fearing  that  the  single  bridge  would  be  carried  away 
by  the  broken  ice,  gave  orders  to  retreat  across  the 
stream.  Diebitsch  withdrew  into  the  wood.  And 
thus  the  first  phase  of  the  struggle  for  the  freedom 
of  Poland  came  to  an  end. 


THE   DEATH-STRUGaLE  OP  POLAND.  251 

This  aifair  was  followed  by  a  striking  series  of 
Polish  victories.  The  ice  in  the  Yistula  was  run- 
ning free,  the  river  overflowed  its  banks,  and  for  a 
month  the  main  bodies  of  the  armies  were  at  rest. 
But  General  Dwernicki,  at  the  head  of  three  thou- 
sand Polish  cavalry,  signalized  the  remainder  of 
February  by  a  series  of  brilliant  exploits,  attacking 
and  dispersing  with  his  small  force  twenty  thousand 
of  the  enemy. 

Eadzivil,  whose  incompetency  had  grown  evident, 
was  now  removed,  and  Skrzynecki,  a  much  abler 
leader,  was  chosen  in  his  place.  He  was  not  long  in 
showing  his  skill  and  daring.  On  the  night  of  March 
30  the  Praga  bridge  was  covered  with  straw  and  the 
army  marched  noiselessly  across.  At  daybreak,  in 
the  midst  of  a  thick  fog,  it  fell  on  a  body  of  sleep- 
ing Eussians,  who  had  not  dreamed  of  such  a  move- 
ment. Hurled  back  in  disorder  and  dismay,  they 
were  met  by  a  division  which  had  been  posted  to 
cut  off  their  retreat.  The  rout  was  complete.  Half 
the  corps  was  destroyed  or  taken,  and  the  remainder 
fled  in  terror  through  the  forest  depths. 

Before  the  day  ended  the  Poles  came  upon  Eosen's 
division,  fifteen  thousand  in  number,  and  strongly 
posted.  Yet  the  impetuous  onslaught  of  the  Poles 
swept  the  field.  The  Eussians  were  driven  back  in 
utter  rout,  with  the  loss  of  two  thousand  men,  six 
thousand  prisoners,  and  large  quantities  of  cannon 
and  arms.  The  Poles  lost  but  three  hundred  men  in 
this  brilliant  success.  During  the  next  day  the  pur- 
suit continued,  and  five  thousand  more  prisoners  were 
taken.     So  disheartened  were  the  Eussian  troops  by 


252  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

these  reverses  that  when  attacked  on  April  10  at 
the  village  of  Iganie  they  scarcely  attempted  to  de- 
fend themselves.  The  flower  of  the  Eussian  infan- 
try, the  lions  of  Varna,  as  they  had  been  called  since 
the  Turkish  war,  laid  down  their  arras,  tore  the 
eagles  from  their  shakos,  and  gave  themselves  up 
as  prisoners  of  war.  Twenty-five  hundred  were 
taken. 

What  immediately  followed  may  be  told  in  a  few 
words.  Skrzynecki  failed  to  follow  up  his  remark- 
able success,  and  lost  valuable  time,  in  which  the 
Eussians  recovered  from  their  dismay.  The  brave 
Dwernicki,  after  routing  a  force  of  nine  thousand 
with  two  thousand  men,  crossed  the  frontier  and 
was  taken  prisoner  by  the  Austrians,  who  had  made 
no  objection  to  its  being  crossed  by  the  Eussians. 
And,  as  if  nature  were  fighting  against  Poland,  the 
cholera,  which  had  crossed  from  India  to  Eussia  and 
infected  the  Eussian  troops,  was  communicated  to 
the  Poles  at  Iganie,  and  soon  spread  throughout 
their  ranks. 

The  climax  in  this  suicidal  war  came  on  the  26th 
of  May,  when  the  whole  Eussian  army,  led  by  Gen- 
eral Diebitsch,  advanced  upon  the  Poles.  During 
the  preceding  night  the  Polish  army  had  retreated 
across  the  river  Narew,  but,  by  some  unexplained 
error,  had  left  Lubienski's  corps  behind.  On  this 
gallant  corps,  drawn  up  in  front  of  the  town  of 
Ostrolenka,  the  host  of  Eussians  fell.  Flanked  by 
the  Cossacks,  who  spread  out  in  clouds  of  horsemen 
on  each  wing,  the  cavalry  retreated  through  the 
town,  followed  by  the  infantry,  the  4th  regiment 


THE  DEATH-STRUGGLE  OP  POLAND.       253 

of  the  line,  which  formed  the  rear-guard,  fighting 
step  by  step  as  it  slowly  fell  back. 

Across  the  bridges  poured  the  retreating  Poles. 
The  Eussians  followed  the  rear-guard  hotly  into  the 
town.  Soon  the  houses  were  in  flames.  Disorder 
reigned  in  the  streets.  The  fight  continued  in  the 
midst  of  the  conflagration.  Eussian  infantry  took 
possession  of  the  houses  adjoining  the  river  and  fired 
on  the  retreating  mass.  Artillery  corps  rushed  to 
the  river  bank  and  planted  their  batteries  to  sweep 
the  bridges.  All  the  avenues  of  escape  were  choked 
by  the  columns  of  the  invading  force. 

The  4th  regiment,  which  had  been  left  alone  in 
the  town,  was  in  imminent  peril  of  capture,  but  at 
this  moment  of  danger  it  displayed  an  indomitable 
spirit.  With  closed  ranks  it  charged  with  the  bay- 
onet on  the  crowded  mass  before  it,  rent  a  crimson 
avenue  through  its  midst,  and  cleared  a  passage  to  the 
bridges  over  heaps  of  the  dead.  Over  the  quaking 
timbers  rushed  the  gallant  Poles,  followed  closely 
by  the  Eussian  grenadiers.  The  Polish  cannon  swept 
the  bridge,  but  the  gunners  were  picked  off  by  sharp- 
shooters and  stretched  in  death  beside  their  guns. 
On  the  curving  left  bank  eighty  Eussian  cannon  were 
planted,  whose  fire  protected  the  crossing  troops. 

Meanwhile  the  bulk  of  the  Polish  army  lay  unsus- 
pecting in  its  camp.  Skrzynecki,  the  commander, 
resting  easy  in  the  belief  that  all  his  men  were 
across,  heard  the  distant  firing  with  unconcern.  Sud- 
denly the  imminence  of  the  peril  was  brought  to  his 
attention.  Eushing  from  his  tent,  and  springing 
upon  his  horse,  he  galloped  madly  through  the  ranks, 


254  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

shouting  wildly,  as  he  passed  from  column  to  col- 
umn, " Ho!  Kybinski !  Ho!  Malachowski  I  Forward ! 
forward,  all!" 

The  troops  sprang  to  their  feet ;  the  forming  bat- 
talions rushed  forward  in  disorder ;  from  end  to 
end  of  the  line  rushed  the  generalissimo,  the  other 
officers  hurrying  to  his  aid.  Charge  after  charge 
was  made  on  the  Eussians  who  had  crossed  the 
stream.  As  if  driven  by  frenzy,  the  Poles  fell  on 
their  foes  with  swords  and  pikes.  Singing  the 
Warsaw  hymn,  the  officers  rushed  to  the  front. 
The  lancers  charged  boldly,  but  their  horses  sank 
in  the  marshy  soil,  and  they  fell  helpless  before  the 
Eussian  fire. 

The  day  passed ;  night  fell ;  the  field  of  battle  was 
strewn  thick  with  the  dead  and  dying.  Only  a  part 
of  the  Eussian  army  had  succeeded  in  crossing. 
Skrzynecki  held  the  field,  but  he  had  lost  seven 
thousand  men.  The  Eussians,  of  whom  more  than 
ten  thousand  had  fallen,  recrossed  the  river  during 
the  night.  But  they  commanded  the  passage  of  the 
stream,  and  the  Polish  commander  gave  orders  for  a 
retreat  on  Warsaw,  sadly  repeating,  as  he  entered 
his  carriage,  Kosciusko's  famous  words,  "  Finis  Po- 
lonise." 

The  end  indeed  was  approaching.  The  resources 
of  Poland  were  limited,  those  of  Eussia  were  im- 
mense. New  armies  trebly  replaced  all  Eussian 
losses.  Field-Marshal  Paskievitch,  the  new  com- 
mander, at  the  head  of  new  forces,  determined  to 
cross  the  Vistula  and  assail  Warsaw  on  the  left  bank 
of  the  stream,  instead  of  attacking  its  suburb  of 


THE  DEATH-STRUGGLE  OF  POLAND.  255 

Praga  and  seeking  to  force  a  passage  across  the  river 
at  that  point,  as  on  former  occasions. 

The  march  of  the  Eussians  was  a  difficult  and 
dangerous  one.  Heavy  rains  had  made  the  roads 
almost  impassable,  while  streams  everywhere  inter- 
sected the  country.  To  transport  a  heavy  park  of 
artillery  and  the  immense  supply  and  baggage  train 
for  an  army  of  seventy  thousand  men,  through  such 
a  country,  was  an  almost  impossible  task,  particu- 
larly in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  cholera  pursued  it 
on  its  march,  and  the  sick  and  dying  proved  an  al- 
most fatal  encumbrance. 

Had  it  been  attacked  under  such  circumstances 
by  the  Polish  army,  it  might  have  been  annihilated. 
But  Skrzynecki  remained  immovable,  although  his 
troops  cried  hotly  for  "  battle !  battle !"  whenever  he 
appeared.  The  favorable  moment  was  lost.  The 
Eussians  crossed  the  Vistula  on  floating  bridges,  and 
marched  in  compact  array  upon  the  Polish  capital. 

And  now  clamor  broke  out  everywhere.  Eiots  in 
Warsaw  proclaimed  the  popular  discontent.  A  dic- 
tator was  appointed,  and  preparations  to  defend  the 
city  to  the  last  extremity  were  made.  But  at  the 
last  moment  twenty  thousand  men  were  sent  out  to 
coiloct  supplies  for  the  threatened  city,  leaving  only 
thirty-five  thousand  for  its  defence.  The  Eussians, 
meanwhile^  had  been  reinforced  by  thirty  thousand 
men,  making  their  army  one  hundred  and  twenty 
thousand  strongs  while  in  cannon  they  outnumbered 
the  Poles  three  to  one. 

Such  was  the  statf^  of  aifairs  in  beleaguered  War- 
saw on  that  fatal  6th  of  September  when  the  ]Rus- 


256  HISTORICAL  TALES. 

sian  general,  taking  advantage  of  the  weakening  of 
the  patriot  army,  ordered  a  general  assault. 

At  daybreak  the  attack  began  with  a  concentrated 
fire  from  two  hundred  guns.  The  troops,  who  had 
been  well  plied  with  brandy,  rushed  in  a  torrent 
upon  the  battered  walls,  and  swarmed  into  the 
suburb  of  Wola,  driving  its  garrison  into  the  church, 
where  the  carnage  continued  until  none  were  left  to 
resist. 

From  Wola  the  attack  was  directed,  about  noon, 
upon  the  suburb  of  Czyste.  This  was  defended  by 
forty  guns,  which  made  havoc  in  the  Eussian  ranks, 
while  two  battalions  of  the  4tb  regiment,  rushing 
upon  them  in  their  disorder,  strove  to  drive  them 
back  and  wrest  Wola  from  their  hands.  The  effort 
was  fruitless,  strong  reinforcements  coming  to  the 
Eussian  aid. 

Through  the  blood-strewn  streets  of  the  city  the 
struggle  continued,  success  favoring  now  the  Poles, 
now  the  Eussians.  About  five  in  the  afternoon  the 
tide  of  battle  turned  decisively  in  favor  of  the  Eus- 
sians. A  shower  of  shells  from  the  Eussian  batteries 
had  fired  the  houses  of  Czyste,  within  whose  flame- 
lit  streets  a  hand-to-hand  struggle  went  on.  The 
famous  4th  regiment,  intrenched  in  the  cemetery, 
defended  itself  valiantly,  but  was  driven  back  by  the 
spread  of  the  flames.  Night  fell,  but  the  conflict 
continued.  The  dawn  of  the  following  day  saw  the 
city  at  the  mercy  of  the  Eussian  host.  The  twenty 
thousand  men  sent  out  to  forage  were  still  absent. 
Nothing  remained  but  surrender,  and  at  nine  in  the 
evening  the  news  of  the  capitulation  was  brought 


THE  DEATH-STRUGGLE  OF  POLAND.       257 

to  the  army,  to  whom  orders  to  retire  on  Praga  were 
given. 

Thus  ended  the  final  struggle  for  the  freedom  of 
Poland.  The  story  of  what  followed  it  is  not  our 
purpose  to  tell.  The  mild  Alexander  was  no  longer 
on  the  Eussian  throne.  The  stern  Nicholas  had  re- 
placed him,  and  fearful  was  his  revenge.  For  the 
crime  of  patriotism  Poland  was  decimated,  thousands 
of  its  noblest  citizens  being  transported  to  the  Cau- 
casus and  Siberia.  The  remnant  of  separate  exist- 
ence possessed  by  Poland  was  overthrown,  and  it 
was  made  a  province  of  the  Eussian  empire.  Even 
the  teaching  of  the  Polish  language  was  forbidden, 
the  youth  of  the  nation  being  commanded  to  learn 
and  speak  the  Eussian  tongue.  As  for  the  perse- 
cution and  suffering  which  fell  upon  the  Poles  as  a 
nation,  it  is  too  sad  a  story  to  be  here  told.  There 
is  still  a  Polish  people,  but  a  Poland  no  more. 


17 


SCHAMYL    THE  HERO    OF  CIR- 
CASSIA. 

In  the  region  lying  between  the  Black  Sea  and  the 
Caspian  Sea  rise  the  rugged  Caucasian  Mountains, 
a  mighty  wall  of  rock  which  there  divides  the  con- 
tinents of  Europe  and  Asia.  Monarch  of  those  lofty 
hills  towers  the  tall  peak  of  Elbrus,  called  by  the 
natives  "  the  great  spirit  of  the  mountains."  Farther 
east  Kasbek  lifts  its  lofty  summit,  and  at  a  lower  level 
the  whole  jagged  line,  ''the  thousand-peaked  Cau- 
casus," rises  into  view.  Below  these  a  lower  range, 
dark  with  forests,  marks  its  outline  on  the  snowy 
summits  beyond.  Fruitful  clearings  appear  to  the 
height  of  five  thousand  feet  on  the  western  slopes ; 
garden  terraces  mount  the  eastward  face,  and  the 
valleys,  green  with  meadows  or  golden  with  grain, 
are  dotted  with  clusters  of  cottages.  Sheep  and 
goats  browse  in  great  numbers  on  the  hill-sides; 
lower  down  the  camel  and  buffalo  feed ;  herds  of 
horses  roam  half  wild  through  the  glades,  and  from 
the  higher  rocks  the  chamois  looks  boldly  down  on 
the  inhabited  realms  below. 

In  these  mountain  fastnesses  dwells  a  race  of  bold 
and  liberty-loving  mountaineers  who  have  preserved 
their  freedom  through  all  the  historic  eras,  yielding 
only  at  last,  after  years  of  valiant  resistance,  when 
the  whole  power  of  the  Russian  empire  was  brought 
268 


SCHAMYL,  THE   HERO   OP   CIRCASSIA.  259 

to  bear  upon  them  in  their  wilds.  For  years  the 
heroic  Schamyl,  their  unconquerable  chief,  braved  his 
foes,  again  and  again  he  escaped  from  their  toils  or 
hurled  them  back  in  defeat,  and  for  a  quarter  of  a 
century  he  defied  all  the  power  of  Eussia,  yielding 
only  when  driven  to  his  final  lair. 

In  the  aoul  or  village  of  Himri,  perched  like  an 
eagle's  nest  high  on  a  projecting  rock,  this  famous 
chief  was  born  in  the  year  1797.  The  only  access 
to  this  high-seated  stronghold  was  by  a  narrow  path 
winding  several  hundred  feet  up  the  slope,  while 
a  triple  wall,  flanked  by  high  towers,  further  de- 
fended it,  and  the  overhanging  brow  of  the  moun- 
tain guarded  it  above.  Such  is  the  character  of 
one  of  the  strongholds  of  this  mountain  land,  and 
such  an  example  of  the  difficulties  its  foes  had  to 
overcome. 

There  are  no  finer  horsemen  than  the  daring  Cir- 
cassian mountaineers,  who  are  ready  to  dash  at  full 
speed  up  or  down  precipitous  steeps,  to  leap  chasms, 
or  to  swim  raging  torrents.  In  an  instant,  also, 
they  can  discharge  their  weapons,  unslinging  the 
gun  when  at  full  gallop,  firing  upon  the  foe,  and  as 
quickly  returning  it  to  its  place.  They  can  rest  sus- 
pended on  the  side  of  the  horse,  leap  to  the  ground 
to  pick  up  a  fallen  weapon,  and  bound  into  the  saddle 
again  without  a  halt.  And  such  is  the  precision  of 
their  aim  that  they  are  able  to  strike  the  smallest 
mark  while  riding  at  full  speed. 

Such  were  some  of  the  arts  in  which  Schamyl 
was  trained,  and  in  which  he  became  signally  ex- 
pert.    In  the  hunt,  the  trial  of  skill,  all  the  labors 


260  HISTORICAL  TALES. 

and  sports  of  the  youthful  mountaineers,  he  was  an 
adept,  and  so  valiant  and  resourceful  that  his  ad- 
miring countrymen  at  length  chose  him  as  their 
Iman,  or  governor,  during  the  defence  of  their  coun- 
try against  the  Russian  invaders. 

The  first  battle  in  which  Schamyl  engaged  was 
behind  the  walls  of  his  native  village.  Himri,  well 
situated  as  it  was,  was  hurled  into  ruin  by  the 
artillery  of  the  foe,  and  among  its  prostrate  de- 
fenders lay  Schamyl,  with  two  balls  through  his 
body.  He  was  left  by  the  enemy  as  dead,  and  in 
after-  years  the  mountaineers  looked  upon  his  escape 
and  recovery  as  due  to  miracle. 

Schamyl  was  thirty-seven  years  of  age  when  he 
became  leader  of  the  tribes.  Of  middle  stature,  with 
fair  hair,  gray  eyes  shadowed  with  thick  brows,  a 
Grecian  nose,  small  mouth,  and  unusually  fair  com- 
plexion, he  was  one  of  the  handsomest  and  most 
distinguished  in  appearance  of  the  mountaineers. 
He  was  erect  in  carriage,  light  and  active  in  tread, 
and  had  a  natural  nobility  of  air  and  aspect.  His 
manner  was  calmly  commanding,  while  his  eloquence 
was  at  once  fiery  and  persuasive.  *'  Flames  sparkle 
from  his  eyes,"  says  one,  "  and  flowers  are  scattered 
from  his  lips." 

In  1839  the  Russians  made  one  of  their  most 
determined  efforts  to  crush  the  resistance  of  the 
mountaineers.  Schamyl's  head-quarters  were  then 
at  Akhulgo,  a  stronghold  perched  upon  the  top  of 
an  isolated  conical  peak  around  whose  foot  a  river 
wound.  Strong  by  nature,  it  was  well  fortified, 
trenches,  earthworks,  and  covered  ways  now  taking 


SCHAMTL,  THE   HERO   OP   CIRCASSIA.  261 

the  place  of  those  stone  walls  which  the  Eussian 
cannon  had  so  easily  overturned  at  Himri. 

Other  fortified  works  were  built  on  the  road  to 
Akhulgo,  which  was  retained  as  a  last  resort,  behind 
whose  defences  the  mountaineers  were  resolved  to 
conquer  or  die.  Its  garrison  was  composed  of  the 
flower  of  the  Circassian  warriors,  while  some  fifteen 
thousand  men  beside  stood  ready  to  take  part  in  the 
fight. 

In  the  month  of  May  the  Eussians  advanced, 
with  such  energy  and  in  such  force  that  the  ante- 
rior works  were  soon  taken,  and  the  mountaineers 
found  themselves  obliged  to  take  refuge  in  their 
final  fortress  of  defence.  The  fight  here  was  fierce 
and  persistent.  Step  by  step  the  Eussians  made 
their  way,  pushing  their  parallels  against  the  in- 
trenched works  of  their  foes.  Point  after  point  was 
gained,  and  at  length,  in  late  August,  the  crisis  came. 
A  sudden  charge  carried  them  into  the  fort,  and  the 
defenders  died  where  they  stood,  leaving  only  women 
and  children  to  fall  as  prisoners  into  the  Eussians' 
hands. 

But  Schamyl  had  disappeared.  Seek  as  they 
would,  the  chief  was  not  to  be  found.  The  fortress, 
the  approaches,  every  nook  and  corner,  were  ex- 
plored, but  the  famous  warrior,  for  whom  his  foes 
would  have  given  half  their  wealth,  had  utterly 
vanished,  no  one  knew  how.  To  make  sure  of  his 
death  they  had  scarcely  left  a  fighting  man  alive, 
yet  to  their  chagrin  the  redoubtable  Schamyl  was 
soon  again  in  the  field. 

How  the  brave  mountaineer  escaped  is  not  known. 


262  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

Of  the  stories  afloat,  one  is  that  he  lay  concealed 
until  night  in  a  rock  refuge,  and  then  managed  to 
swim  the  river  while  some  of  his  friends  attracted 
the  attention  and  drew  the  fire  of  the  guards.  All 
that  can  be  said  is  that  in  September  he  reappeared, 
ready  for  new  feats  of  arms,  and  was  seen  again  at 
the  head  of  a  gallant  body  of  mountain  warriors. 

His  head-quarters  were  now  fixed  at  Dargo,  a  vil- 
lage in  the  heart  of  the  mountains  and  in  the  midst 
of  the  primeval  forest.  But  the  chief  had  learned  a 
lesson  from  his  late  experience.  The  Circassians 
were  no  match  for  the  Eussians  behind  fortifications. 
He  resolved  in  the  future  to  fight  in  a  manner  better 
suited  to  the  habits  of  his  followers,  and  to  wear  out 
the  foe  by  a  guerilla  warfare. 

Three  years  passed  before  the  Eussians  again 
sought  to  penetrate  the  mountains  in  force.  Then 
General  Grabbe,  the  victor  at  Akhulgo,  attempted  to 
repeat  his  success  at  Dargo.  But  the  experience  he 
gained  proved  to  be  of  a  less  agreeable  type.  At  the 
close  of  the  first  day's  march,  when  the  soldiers  had 
eaten  their  evening  meal  and  stretched  their  limbs 
to  rest  after  a  hard  day's  march,  they  were  sud- 
denly brought  to  their  feet  by  a  rattling  volley  of 
musketry  from  the  surrounding  woods.  All  night 
long  the  firing  continued,  no  great  damage  being 
done  in  the  darkness,  but  the  soldiers  being  effectu- 
ally deprived  of  their  rest.  When  day  dawned  there 
was  not  a  Circassian  to  be  seen. 

Near  noon,  as  the  column  wound  through  a  ravine 
in  the  forest,  the  firing  sharply  recommenced,  a  mur- 
derous volley  pouring  upon  the  vanguard  from  be- 


SCHAMYL,  THE   HERO   OF  CIRCASSIA.  263 

hind  the  trees.  The  number  of  wounded  became  so 
great  that  there  were  not  wagons  enough  for  their 
transportation.  Still  General  Grab  be  kept  on,  de- 
spite the  advice  of  his  officers,  only  to  be  attacked 
again  at  night  as  his  weary  men  lay  in  a  small  open 
meadow  among  the  hills.  All  night  long  the  whiz 
of  bullets  drove  away  repose,  and  at  every  step  of 
the  next  day's  march  the  woods  belched  forth  the 
leaden  messengers  of  death. 

The  goal  of  the  march  was  near  at  hand.  The 
little  village  of  Dargo  could  be  seen  on  a  distant 
hi  11- top.  But  it  was  to  be  reached  only  by  a  path 
of  death,  and  the  Eussian  commander  was  at  length 
forced  to  give  the  order  to  retreat.  On  seeing  the 
column  wheel  and  begin  its  backward  march  the 
Circassians  grew  wild  with  excitement  and  triumph. 
Slinging  their  rifles  behind  their  backs,  they  rushed, 
sabre  in  hand,  upon  the  enemy's  centre,  breaking 
through  it  again  and  again,  while  a  deadly  hail  of 
rifle-shots  still  came  from  the  woods.  In  the  end,  of 
the  column  of  six  thousand,  two  thousand  were  left 
dead,  the  remainder  reaching  the  fortress  from  which 
they  had  set  out  in  sorry  plight. 

For  several  years  Schamyl  made  Dargo  his  head- 
quarters. Not  until  1845  did  the  Eussians  succeed 
in  taking  it,  their  army  now  being  ten  thousand 
strong.  But  it  was  a  village  in  flames  they  cap- 
tured. Schamyl  had  fired  it  before  leaving,  and  the 
Eussians  were  so  beset  in  coming  and  going  that 
their  empty  conquest  was  made  at  the  cost  of  three 
thousand  of  their  men. 

In  the  spring  of  the  following  year  the  valiant 


264  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

chief  repaid  the  enemy  in  part  for  these  invasions 
of  his  country.  He  had  now  under  his  command 
no  less  than  twenty  thousand  warriors,  largely  horse^ 
men,  and  in  the  leafy  month  of  May,  taking  advan^ 
tage  of  a  weakening  of  the  Eussian  line,  he  dashed 
suddenly  from  the  highlands  for  a  raid  in  the  neigh- 
boring country  of  the  Kabardians. 

Two  rivers  flowed  between  the  mountain  ranges 
and  the  Kabardas,  and  two  lines  of  hostile  fortresses 
guarded  the  frontier,  containing  in  all  no  less  than 
seventy  thousand  men.  Between  the  forts  lay  Cos- 
sack settlements,  and  beyond  them  the  Kabardians, 
an  armed  and  warlike  race.  Schamyl  had  no  artil- 
lery, no  fortresses,  no  depots  of  provisions  and  am- 
munition. All  he  could  do  was  to  make  a  quick 
dash  and  a  hasty  return. 

Down  upon  the  Cossacks  he  rode,  followed  by  his 
thousands  of  daring  riders.  Plundering  their  vil- 
lages, he  halted  to  take  no  forts  except  those  that 
went  down  in  the  whirl  of  his  coming.  Before  the 
garrisons  in  the  strongholds  fairly  knew  that  he  was 
among  them  he  was  gone ;  and  while  the  Kabar- 
dians believed  that  he  was  lurking  in  the  mountain 
depths,  he  suddenly  dashed  into  their  midst.  Sixty 
populous  Kabardian  villages  were  plundered,  and 
the  mountaineers  proudly  refused  to  turn  till  they 
had  watered  their  horses  in  the  Kuban  and  even 
reached  the  more  distant  banks  of  the  Laba. 

But  how  were  they  to  return?  Thousands  of 
horsemen  had  gathered  in  the  way.  Long  battalions 
of  infantry  had  hurried  to  cut  off  the  raiders  on 
their  retreat.     Schamyl  knew  that  he  could  not  get 


SCHAMYL,  THE   HERO   OF   CIRCASSIA.  265 

back  by  the  way  he  had  come  ;  but,  turning  south- 
ward, he  galloped  at  headlong  speed  through  the 
Cossack  settlements  in  that  quarter,  and,  with  his 
cruppers  laden  with  booty  and  his  saddle-bows  well 
furnished  with  food,  evaded  his  foes  and  reached 
the  mountains  again.  May  seemed  to  bloom  more 
richly  than  ever  as  the  wild  riders  dashed  proudly 
back  to  the  doors  of  their  homes  and  heard  the  glad 
shouts  of  joy  that  greeted  their  safe  return. 

The  whole  story  of  the  exploits  of  the  famous 
Circassian  chief  is  too  extended  and  too  full  of  stir- 
ring incidents  to  be  here  given  even  in  epitome.  It 
must  suffice  to  say,  in  conclusion,  that  ten  years 
after  his  escape  from  Akhulgo  that  stronghold  was 
again  attacked  and  taken  by  the  Eussians,  and  as 
before  Schamyl  mysteriously  escaped.  Completely 
baflled,  nothing  was  left  for  the  Eussians  but  to 
wear  out  the  chief  and  his  people  by  continued  in- 
vasions of  their  mountain  land.  Again  and  again 
their  armies  were  beaten  by  their  indomitable  foe, 
but  the  continuance  of  the  struggle  slowly  exhausted 
the  land  and  its  powers  of  resistance. 

The  Circassians  were  helped  during  the  Crimean 
War  by  the  foes  of  Eussia,  who  supplied  them  with 
arms  and  money,  but  after  that  war  the  Eussians 
kept  up  the  struggle  with  more  energy  than  ever, 
and,  by  opening  a  road  over  the  mountains,  cut  off 
a  part  of  the  country  and  compelled  its  submission. 
At  length,  in  April,  1859,  twenty-five  years  after  the 
struggle  began,  Weden,  Schamyl's  stronghold  at  that 
time,  was  taken,  after  a  seven  weeks'  siege.  As  be- 
fore, the  chief  escaped,  but  the  country  was  virtually 


266  HISTORICAL  TALES. 

subdued,  and  he  had  only  a  small  band  of  followers 
left. 

For  months  afterwards  his  foes  pursued  him  ac- 
tively from  fastness  to  fastness,  determined  to  run 
him  down,  and  at  length,  on  September  6,  1859,  sur- 
prised him  on  the  plateau  of  Gounib.  Here  the  de- 
voted band  made  a  desperate  resistance,  not  yielding 
until  of  the  original  four  hundred  only  forty-seven 
remained  alive.  Schamyl,  the  lion  of  the  Caucasus, 
was  at  length  taken,  after  having  cost  the  Russians 
uncounted  losses  in  life  and  money. 

With  his  capture  the  independence  of  Circassia 
came  to  an  end.  It  has  since  formed  an  integral 
part  of  the  Russian  empire,  and  its  subjugation  has 
opened  the  gateway  to  that  vast  expansion  of  Rus- 
sia in  Central  Asia  which  since  then  has  taken  place. 
The  captive  chief  had  won  the  respect  of  his  foes, 
and  was  honorably  treated,  being  assigned  a  resi- 
dence at  Kaluga,  in  Central  Russia,  with  an  annual 
pension  of  five  thousand  dollars.  He,  like  his  coun- 
trymen, was  a  Mohammedan  in  faith,  and  removed 
to  Mecca,  in  Arabia,  in  1870,  dying  at  Medina  in  the 
following  year. 


MOUNT  ST.   PETER,  CRIMEA. 


THE  CHARGE  OF  THE  LIGHT 
BRIGADE, 

The  Crimean  War,  brief  as  was  the  interval  it 
occupied  in  the  annals  of  time,  was  one  replete 
with  exciting  events.  And  of  these  much  the  most 
brilliant  was  that  which  took  place  on  the  25th  of 
October,  1854,  the  famous  "  Charge  of  the  Light 
Brigade,"  which  Tennyson  has  immortalized  in  song, 
and  which  stands  among  the  most  dramatic  inci- 
dents in  the  history  of  war.  It  was  truthfully  said 
by  one  of  the  French  generals  who  witnessed  it,  "  It 
is  magnificent,  but  it  is  not  war."  We  give  it  for  its 
magnificence  alone. 

First  let  us  depict  the  scene  of  that  memorable 
event.  The  British  and  French  armies  lay  in  front 
of  Balaklava,  their  base  of  supplies,  facing  towards 
Sebastopol.  They  occupied  a  mountain  slope,  which 
was  strongly  intrenched.  A  valley  lay  before  them, 
and  some  two  miles  distant  rose  another  mountain 
range,  rocky  and  picturesque.  In  the  valley  be- 
tween were  four  rounded  hillocks,  each  crowned  by 
an  earthwork  defended  by  a  few  hundred  Turks. 
These  outlying  redoubts  formed  the  central  points 
of  the  famous  battle  of  October  25. 

In  the  early  morning  of  that  day  the  Eussians 
appeared  in  force,  debouching  from  the  mountain 
passes  in  front  of  the   allied   army.     Six   compact 

267 


268  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

masses  of  infantry  were  seen,  with  a  line  of  artillery 
in  front,  and  on  each  flank  a  powerful  cavalry  force, 
while  a  cloud  of  mounted  skirmishers  filled  the  space 
between.  Fronting  the  line  of  the  allies  were  the 
Zouaves,  crouching  behind  low  earthworks,  on  the 
right  the  93d  Highlanders,  and  in  front  the  British 
cavalry,  composed  of  the  Heavy  Brigade,  under 
General  Scarlett,  and,  more  in  advance,  the  Light 
Brigade,  under  Lord  Cardigan.  Such  were,  in  broad 
outline,  the  formation  of  the  ground  and  the  posi- 
tion of  the  actors  in  the  drama  of  battle  about  to  be 
played. 

The  scene  opened  with  an  attack  on  the  advanced 
redoubts.  No.  1  was  quickly  taken,  the  Turks  fly- 
ing in  haste  before  the  fire  of  the  Russian  guns. 
No.  2  was  evacuated  in  similar  panic  haste,  the  Cos- 
sack skirmishers  riding  among  the  fleeing  Turks  and 
cutting  them  mercilessly  down.  The  guns  of  No.  2 
were  at  once  turned  upon  No.  3,  whose  garrison  of 
Turks  fired  a  few  shots  in  return,  and  then,  as  in  the 
previous  cases,  broke  into  open  flight.  After  them 
dashed  the  Cossack  light  horsemen,  flanking  them  to 
right  and  left,  and  many  of  the  turbaned  fugitives 
paid  for  their  panic  with  their  lives.  The  Russians 
had  won  in  the  first  move  of  the  game.  They  had 
taken  three  of  the  redoubts  before  a  movement  could 
be  made  for  their  support. 

Next  a  squadron  of  the  Russian  cavalry  charged 
vigorously  upon  the  Highlanders.  But  a  deadly 
rifle  fire  met  them  as  they  came,  volley  after  volley 
tearing  gaps  through  their  compact  ranks,  and  in  a 
moment  more  they  had  wheeled,  opened  their  files, 


THE   CHARGE  OP   THE   LIGHT   BRIGADE.  269 

and  were  in  full  flight.  "Bravo,  Highlanders!" 
came  up  an  exulting  shout  from  the  thousands  of 
spectators  behind. 

It  was  evident  that  Balaklava  was  the  goal  of  the 
Eussian  movement,  and  the  heavy  cavalry  were 
ordered  into  position  to  protect  the  approaches.  As 
they  moved  towards  the  post  indicated,  a  large  body 
of  the  enemy's  cavalry  appeared  over  the  ridge  in 
front.  These  were  corjps  cCelite,  evidently,  their 
jackets  of  light  blue,  embroidered  with  silver  lace, 
giving  them  a  holiday  appearance.  Behind  them,  as 
they  galloped  at  an  easy  pace  to  the  brow  of  the  hill, 
appeared  the  keen  glitter  of  lance-tips,  and  in  the 
rear  of  the  lancers  came  several  squadrons  of  gray- 
coated  dragoons  as  supports.  As  the  serried  ranks 
of  horsemen  advanced,  their  pace  declined  from  a 
gallop  to  an  easy  trot,  and  from  that  almost  to  a  halt. 
Their  first  line  was  double  the  length  of  the  British, 
and  three  times  as  deep.  Behind  it  came  a  second 
line,  equally  strong.  They  greatly  outnumbered 
their  foe. 

It  was  evident  that  the  shock  of  a  cavalry  battle 
was  at  hand.  The  hearts  of  the  spectators  throbbed 
with  excitement  as  they  saw  the  Heavy  Brigade  sud- 
denly break  into  a  full  gallop  and  rush  headlong 
upon  the  enemy,  making  straight  for  the  centre  of 
the  Eussian  line.  On  they  went.  Grays  and  Ennis- 
killeners,  in  serried  array,  while  their  cheers  and 
shouts  rent  the  air  as  they  struck  the  Eussian  line 
with  an  impetus  which  carried  them  through  the 
close-drawn  ranks.  For  a  moment  there  was  a  glit- 
tering flash  of  sword-blades  and  a  sharp  clash  of 


270  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

steel,  and  then,  in  thinned  numbers,  the  charging  dra- 
goons appeared  in  the  rear  of  the  line,  heading  with 
unchecked  speed  towards  the  second  Eussian  rank. 

The  gallant  horsemen  seemed  buried  amid  the 
multitude  of  the  enemy.  "  God  help  them !  they  are 
lost!"  came  from  more  than  one  trembling  lip  and  was 
echoed  in  many  a  fearful  heart.  The  onset  was  ter- 
rific :  the  second  line  was  broken  like  the  first,  and 
in  its  rear  the  red-coated  riders  appeared.  But  the 
first  line  of  Eussians,  which  had  been  rolled  back 
upon  its  flanks  by  the  impetuous  rush,  was  closing 
up  again,  and  the  much  smaller  force  in  their  midst 
was  in  serious  peril  of  being  swallowed  up  and 
crushed  by  sheer  force  of  numbers. 

The  crisis  was  a  terrible  one.  But  at  the  moment 
when  the  danger  seemed  greatest,  two  regiments  of 
dragoons,  the  4th  and  5th,  who  had  closely  followed 
their  fellows  in  the  charge,  broke  furiously  upon 
the  enemy,  dashing  through  and  rending  to  frag- 
ments the  already  broken  line.  In  a  moment  all  was 
over.  Less  than  five  minutes  had  passed  since  the 
first  shock,  and  already  the  Eussian  horse  was  in  full 
flight,  beaten  by  half  its  force.  Wild  cheers  burst 
from  the  whole  army  as  the  victors  drew  back  with 
almost  intact  ranks,  their  loss  having  been  very 
small. 

Thus  ended  the  famous  "  Charge  of  the  Heavy 
Brigade."  Its  glory  was  to  be  eclipsed  by  that 
memorable  "  Charge  of  the  Light  Brigade"  which 
became  the  theme  of  Tennyson's  stirring  ode,  and 
the  recital  of  which  still  causes  many  a  heart  to 
throb.    We  are  indebted  for  our  story  of  it  to  the 


THE   CHARGE   OF   THE   LIGHT   BRIGADE.  271 

thrilling  account  of  W.  H.  Eussell,  the  Times  cor- 
respondent, and  a  spectator  of  the  event. 

As  the  Russian  cavalry  retired,  their  infantry  fell 
back,  leaving  men  in  three  of  the  captured  redoubts, 
but  abandoning  the  other  points  gained.  They  also 
had  guns  on  the  heights  overlooking  their  position. 
About  the  hour  of  eleven,  while  the  two  armies  thus 
faced  each  other,  resting  for  an  interval  from  the 
rush  of  conflict,  there  came  to  Lord  Cardigan  that 
fatal  order  which  caused  him  to  hurl  his  men  into 
"  the  jaws  of  death."  How  it  came  to  be  given,  how 
the  misapprehension  occurred,  who  was  at  fault  in 
the  error,  has  never  been  made  clear.  Captain 
[Nolan,  who  brought  the  order,  was  one  of  the  first 
to  fall,  and  his  story  of  the  event  died  with  him. 
All  we  know  is  that  he  handed  Lord  Lucan  a  written 
command  to  advance,  and  when  asked,  "  Where  are 
we  to  advance  to  ?"  he  pointed  to  the  Eussian  line, 
and  said,  "  There  are  the  enemy,  and  there  are  the 
guns,"  or  words  of  similar  meaning. 

It  is  a  maxim  in  war  that  "cavalry  shall  never 
act  without  a  support,"  that  "infantry  should  be 
close  at  hand  when  cavalry  carry  guns,"  and  that 
a  hne  of  cavalry  should  have  some  squadrons  in 
column  on  its  flanks,  to  guard  it  against  a  flank 
attack.  None  of  these  rules  was  carried  out  here, 
and  Lord  Lucan  reluctantly  gave  the  order  to  ad- 
vance upon  the  guns,  which  Lord  Cardigan  as  re- 
luctantly accepted,  for  to  any  eye  it  was  evident 
that  it  was  an  order  to  advance  upon  death.  "  Some 
one  had  blundered,"  and  wisdom  would  have  dictated 
the  demand  for  a  confirmation  of  the  order.    Yalor 


272  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

suggested  that  it  should  be  obeyed  in  all  its  blank 
enormity.  Dismissing  wisdom  and  yielding  to  valor, 
Lord  Cardigan  gave  the  word  to  advance,  the  bri- 
gade, scarcely  a  regiment  in  total  strength,  broke  into 
a  sudden  gallop,  and  within  a  minute  the  devoted 
line  was  flying  over  the  plain  towards  the  enemy. 

The  movement  struck  Lord  Eaglan,  from  whom 
the  order  was  supposed  to  have  emanated,  with  con- 
sternation. It  struck  the  Eussians  with  surprise. 
Surely  that  handful  of  men  was  not  going  to  attack 
an  army  in  position  ?  Yet  so  it  seemed  as  the  Light 
Brigade  dashed  onward,  the  uplifted  sabres  glitter- 
ing in  the  morning  sun,  the  horses  galloping  at  full 
speed  towards  the  Eussian  guns,  over  a  plain  a  mile 
and  a  half  in  width. 

"Not  far  had  they  gone  when  a  hot  fire  of  cannon, 
musketry,  and  rifles  belched  from  the  Eussian  line. 
A  flood  of  smoke  and  flame  hid  the  opposing  ranks, 
and  shot  and  shell  tore  through  the  charging  troops. 
Gaps  were  rent  in  their  ranks,  men  and  horses  went 
down  in  rapid  succession,  and  riderless  horses  were 
seen  rushing  wildly  across  the  plain.  The  first  line 
was  broken.  It  was  joined  by  the  second.  On  went 
the  brigade  in  a  single  line  with  unchecked  speed. 
Though  torn  by  the  deadly  fire  of  thirty  guns,  the 
brave  riders  rode  steadily  on  into  the  smoke  of  the 
batteries,  with  cheers  which  too  often  changed  in  a 
breath  to  the  cry  of  death. 

Through  the  clouds  of  smoke  the  horsemen  could 
be  seen  dashing  up  to  and  between  the  guns,  cut- 
ting down  the  gunners  as  they  stood.  Then,  wheel- 
ing, they  broke  through  a  line  of  Eussian  infantry 


THE   CHARGE   OF   THE    LIGHT   BRIGADE.  273 

which  sought  to  stay  their  advance,  and  scattered 
it  to  right  and  left.  In  a  moment  more,  to  the  re- 
lief of  those  who  had  watched  their  career  in  an 
agony  of  emotion,  they  were  seen  riding  back  from 
the  captured  redoubt. 

Scattered  and  broken  they  came,  some  mounted, 
some  on  foot,  all  hastening  towards  the  British  lines. 
As  they  wheeled  to  retreat,  a  regiment  of  lancers 
was  hurled  upon  their  flank.  Colonel  Shewell,  of 
the  8th  Hussars,  saw  the  danger,  and  rushed  at  the 
foe,  cutting  a  passage  through  with  great  loss.  The 
others  had  similarly  to  break  their  way  through 
the  columns  that  sought  to  envelop  them.  As  they 
emerged  from  the  cavalry  fight,  the  gunners  opened 
upon  them  again,  cutting  new  lines  of  carnage 
through  their  decimated  ranks.  The  Heavy  Brigade 
had  ridden  to  their  relief,  but  could  only  cover  the 
retreat  of  the  slender  remnant  of  the  gallant  band. 
In  twenty-five  minutes  from  the  start  not  a  British 
soldier,  except  the  dead  and  dying,  was  left  on  the 
scene  of  this  daring  but  mad  exploit. 

Captain  Nolan  fell  among  the  first;  Lord  Lucan 
was  slightly  wounded;  Lord  Cardigan  had  his 
clothes  pierced  by  a  lance ;  Lord  Fitzgibbon  re- 
ceived a  fatal  wound.  Of  the  total  brigade,  some 
six  hundred  strong,  the  killed,  wounded,  and  missing 
numbered  four  hundred  and  twenty-six. 

While  this  event  was  taking  place,  a  body  of 
French  cavalry  made  a  brilliant  charge  on  a  battery 
at  the  left,  which  was  firing  upon  the  devoted  bri- 
gade, and  cut  down  the  gunners.  But  they  could 
not  get  the  guns  oif  without  support,  and  fell  back 

18 


274  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

with  a  loss  of  one-fourth  their  number.  Thus  ended 
that  eventful  day,  in  which  the  British  cavalry  had 
covered  itself  with  glory,  though  it  had  only  glory 
to  show  in  return  for  its  heavy  loss. 

Such  is  the  story  as  it  stands  in  prose.  Here  is 
Tennyson's  poetic  version,  which  is  full  of  the  dash 
and  daring  of  the  wild  ride. 

THE  CHAEGE  OE  THE  LIGHT  BRIGADE. 

Half  a  league,  half  a  league, 

Half  a  league  onward, 
All  in  the  valley  of  Death 

Rode  the  six  hundred. 
*'  Forward,  the  Light  Brigade! 
Charge  for  the  guns ! "  he  said : 
Into  the  valley  of  Death 

Rode  the  six  hundred. 

"  Forward,  the  Light  Brigade  1" 
Was  there  a  man  dismayed  ? 
Not  though  the  soldier  knew 
Some  one  had  blundered : 
Theirs  not  to  make  reply, 
Theirs  not  to  reason  why, 
Theirs  but  to  do  and  die. 
Into  the  valley  of  Death 

Rode  the  six  hundred. 

Cannon  to  right  of  them, 
Cannon  to  left  of  them. 
Cannon  in  front  of  them, 

Volleyed  and  thundered ; 
Stormed  at  with  shot  and  shell, 
Boldly  they  rode  and  well ; 
Into  the  jaws  of  Death, 
Into  the  mouth  of  Hell, 

Rode  the  six  hundred. 


THE   CHARGE   OP   THE   LIGHT   BRIGADE.  275 

Flashed  all  their  sabres  bare, 
Flashed  as  they  turned  in  air, 
Sabring  the  gunners  there, 
Charging  an  army,  while 

All  the  world  wondered : 
Plunged  in  the  battery-smoke 
Eight  through  the  line  they  broke ; 
Cossack  and  Russian 
Eeeled  from  the  sabre-stroke 

Shattered  and  sundered. 
Then  they  rode  back,  but  not — 
Not  the  six  hundred. 

Cannon  to  right  of  them, 
Cannon  to  left  of  them. 
Cannon  behind  them. 

Volleyed  and  thundered ; 
Stormed  at  with  shot  and  shell, 
"While  horse  and  hero  fell. 
They  that  had  fought  so  well 
Came  through  the  jaws  of  Death, 
Back  from  the  mouth  of  Hell, 
All  that  was  left  of  them. 

Left  of  six  hundred. 

When  can  their  glory  fade  ? 
Oh,  the  wild  charge  they  madel 

All  the  world  wondered. 
Honor  the  charge  they  made  I 
Honor  the  Light  Brigade, 

Noble  six  hundred ! 


THE  FALL  OF  SEBASTOPOL. 

The  history  of  Russia  has  been  largely  a  history 
of  wars, — which  indeed  might  be  said  with  equal 
justice  of  most  of  the  nations  of  Europe.  In  truth, 
history  as  written  gives  such  prominence  to  warlike 
deeds,  and  glosses  over  so  hastily  the  events  of  peace, 
that  we  seem  to  hear  the  roll  of  the  drum  rising  from 
the  written  page  itself,  and  to  see  the  hue  of  blood 
crimsoning  the  printed  sheets.  This  dominance  of 
war  in  history  is  a  striking  instance  of  false  perspec- 
tive. Nations  have  not  spent  all  or  most  of  their 
lives  in  fighting,  but  the  clash  of  the  sword  rings 
so  loudly  through  the  historic  atmosphere  that  we 
scarcely  hear  the  milder  sounds  of  peace. 

So  far  as  Russia  is  concerned,  the  torrent  of  war 
has  rolled  mainly  towards  the  south.  From  those 
early  days  in  which  the  Scythians  drove  back  the 
Persian  host  and  the  early  Yarangians  fiercely 
assailed  the  Greek  empire,  the  relations  of  the  north 
and  the  south  have  been  strained,  and  a  rapid  suc- 
cession of  wars  has  been  waged  between  the  Rus- 
sians and  their  varying  foes,  the  Greeks,  the  Tartars^ 
and  the  Turks.  For  ten  centuries  these  wars  have 
continued,  with  Constantinople  for  their  ultimate 
goal,  yet  in  all  these  ten  centuries  of  conflict  no  Rus- 
sian foot  has  ever  been  set  in  hostility  within  that 
ancient  city's  walls. 
276 


THE   FALL   OP  SEBASTOPOL.  277 

Of  these  many  wars,  that  which  looms  largest  on 
the  historic  page  is  the  fierce  conflict  of  1854-55,  in 
which  England  and  France  came  to  Turkey's  aid  and 
Eussia  met  with  defeat  on  the  soil  of  the  Crimea. 
We  have  already  given  the  most  striking  and  dra- 
matic incident  of  this  famous  Crimean  war.  It  may 
be  aptly  followed  by  the  final  scene  of  all,  the  assault 
upon  and  capture  of  Sebastopol. 

The  city  of  this  name  (Eussian  Sevastopol)  is  a  sea- 
port and  fortress  on  the  site  of  an  old  Tartar  village 
near  the  southwest  extremity  of  the  Crimea,  built  by 
Eussia  as  her  naval  station  on  the  Black  Sea.  It 
possesses  one  of  the  finest  natural  harbors  of  the 
world,  and  formed  the  central  scene  of  the  Crimean 
"War,  the  English  and  French  armies  besieging  it 
with  all  the  resources  at  their  command.  For  nearly 
a  year  this  stronghold  of  Eussia  was  subjected  to 
bombardment.  Battles  were  fought  in  front  of  it, 
vigorous  efforts  for  its  capture  and  its  relief  were 
made,  but  in  early  September,  1855,  it  still  remained 
in  Eussian  hands,  though  frightfully  torn  and  rent  by 
the  torrent  of  iron  balls  which  had  been  poured  into 
it  with  little  cessation.  But  now  the  climax  of  the 
struggle  was  at  hand,  and  all  Europe  stood  in  breath- 
less anxiety  awaiting  the  result. 

On  September  5  the  fiercest  cannonade  the  city 
had  yet  felt  was  begun  by  the  French,  the  English 
batteries  quickly  joining  in.  All  that  night  and 
during  the  night  of  the  6th  the  bombardment  was 
unceasingly  continued,  and  during  the  7th  the  can- 
nons still  belched  their  fiery  hail  upon  the  town. 
Everywhere  the  streets  showed  the  terrible  effect 


278  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

of  this  vigorous  assault.  Nearly  every  house  in  sight 
was  rent  asunder  by  the  balls.  Towards  evening 
the  great  dock-yard  shears  caught  fire,  and  burned 
fiercely  in  the  high  wind  then  prevailing.  A  large 
vessel  in  the  harbor  was  next  seen  in  flames,  and 
burned  to  the  water's  edge.  This  bombardment  was 
preliminary  to  a  general  assault,  fixed  for  the  8th, 
and  on  the  morning  of  that  day  it  was  resumed,  as 
a  mask  to  the  coming  charge  upon  the  works. 

The  Malakoff  fort,  the  key  to  the  Eussian  position, 
was  to  be  assaulted  by  the  French,  who  gathered  in 
great  force  in  its  front  during  the  night.  The  Eedan, 
another  strong  fortification,  was  reserved  for  the 
British  attack.  In  the  trenches,  facing  the  works, 
men  were  gathered  as  closely  as  they  could  be 
packed,  with  their  nerves  strung  to  an  intense  pitch 
as  they  awaited  the  decisive  word.  The  hour  of 
noon  was  fixed  for  the  French  assault,  and  as  it 
approached  a  lull  in  the  cannonade  told  that  the 
critical  moment  was  at  hand. 

At  five  minutes  to  twelve  the  word  was  given,  and 
like  a  swarm  of  angry  bees  the  French  sprang  from 
their  trenches  and  rushed  in  mad  haste  across  the 
narrow  space  dividing  them  from  the  Malakoff.  The 
place,  a  moment  before  quiet  and  apparently  de- 
serted, seemed  suddenly  alive.  A  few  bounds  took 
the  active  line  of  stormers  across  the  perilous  interval, 
and  within  a  minute's  time  they  were  scrambling  up 
the  face  and  slipping  through  the  embrasures  of  the 
long-defiant  fort.  On  they  came,  stream  after  stream, 
battalion  succeeding  battalion,  each  dashing  for  the 
embrasures,  and  before  the  last  of  the  stormers  had 


THE  FALL  OF  SEBASTOPOL.  273 

left  the  trenches  the  flag  of  the  foremost  was  waving 
in  triumph  above  a  bastion  of*  the  fort. 

The  Eussians  had  been  taken  by  surprise.  Yery 
few  of  them  were  in  the  fort.  The  destructive  can- 
nonade had  driven  them  to  shelter.  It  was  in  the 
hands  of  the  French  by  the  time  their  foes  were 
fully  aware  of  what  had  occurred.  Then  a  deter- 
mined attempt  was  made  to  recapture  it,  and  the 
Eussian  general  hurled  his  men  in  successive  storm- 
ing columns  upon  the  work,  vainly  endeavoring  to 
drive  out  its  captors.  From  noon  until  seven  in  the 
evening  these  furious  efforts  continued,  thousands 
of  the  Eussians  falling  in  the  attempt.  In  the  end 
the  exhausted  legions  were  withdrawn,  the  French 
being  left  in  possession  of  the  work  they  had  so  ably 
won  and  so  valiantly  held. 

Meanwhile  the  British  were  engaged  in  their  share 
of  the  assault.  The  moment  the  French  tricolor  was 
seen  waving  from  the  parapet  of  the  Malakoff  four 
signal  rockets  were  sent  up,  and  the  dash  on  the 
Eedan  began.  It  was  made  in  less  force  than  the 
French  had  used,  and  with  a  very  different  result. 
The  Eussians  were  better  prepared,  and  the  space  to 
be  crossed  was  wider,  the  assaulting  column  being 
rent  with  musketry  as  it  dashed  over  the  interval 
between  the  trenches  and  the  fort.  On  dashed  the 
assailants,  through  the  abatis,  which  had  been  torn 
to  fragments  by  the  artillery  fire,  into  the  ditch,  and 
up  the  face  of  the  work.  The  parapet  was  scaled 
almost  without  opposition,  the  few  Eussians  there 
taking  shelter  behind  their  breastworks  in  the  rear, 
whence  they  opened  fire  on  the  assailing  force. 


280  HISTORICAL  TALES. 

At  this  point,  instead  of  continuing  the  charge,  as 
their  officers  implored  them  to  do,  the  men  halted 
and  began  loading  and  firing,  a  work  in  which  they 
were  greatly  at  a  disadvantage,  since  the  Eussians 
returned  the  fire  briskly  from  behind  their  shelters. 
Every  moment  reinforcements  rushed  in  from  the 
town  and  added  to  the  weight  of  the  enemy's  fire. 
The  assailants  were  falling  rapidly,  particularly  the 
officers,  who  were  singled  out  by  their  foes. 

For  an  hour  and  a  half  the  struggle  continued. 
By  that  time  the  Eussians  had  cleared  the  Eedan, 
but  the  British  still  held  the  parapets.  Then  a  rush 
from  within  was  made,  and  the  assailants  were  swept 
back  and  driven  through  the  embrasures  or  down  the 
face  of  the  parapet  into  the  ditch,  where  their  foes 
followed  them  with  the  bayonet. 

A  short,  sharp,  and  bloody  struggle  here  took 
place.  Step  by  step  the  band  of  Britons  was  forced 
back  by  the  enemy,  those  who  fled  for  the  trenches 
having  to  run  the  gauntlet  of  a  hot  fire,  those  who 
remained  having  to  defend  themselves  against  four 
times  their  force.  The  attempt  had  hopelessly  failed, 
and  of  those  in  the  assailing  column  comparatively 
few  escaped.  The  day's  work  had  been  partly  a 
success  and  partly  a  failure.  The  French  had  suc- 
ceeded in  their  assault.  The  English  had  failed  in 
theirs,  and  lost  heavily  in  the  attempt. 

What  the  final  result  was  to  be  no  one  could  tell. 
Silence  followed  the  day's  struggle,  and  night  fell 
upon  a  comparatively  quiet  scene.  About  eleven 
o'clock  a  new  act  in  the  drama  began,  with  a  terrific 
explosion  that   shook  the   ground   like  an    earth- 


THE   FALL   OP   SEBASTOPOL.  281 

quake.  By  midnight  several  other  explosions  vi- 
brated through  the  air.  Here  and  there  flames  were 
seen,  half  hidden  by  the  cloud  of  dust  which  rose  be- 
fore the  strong  wind.  As  the  night  waned,  the  fires 
grew  and  spread,  while  tremendous  explosions  from 
time  to  time  told  of  startling  events  taking  place  in 
the  town.  What  was  going  on  under  the  shroud  of 
night  ?  The  early  dawn  solved  the  mystery.  The 
Eussians  were  abandoning  the  city  they  had  so  long 
and  so  gallantly  held. 

The  Malakoff  was  the  key  of  their  position.  Its 
loss  had  made  the  city  untenable.  The  failure  of 
the  attempt  to  recover  it  was  followed  by  immediate 
preparations  for  evacuation.  The  gray  light  of  the 
coming  day  showed  a  stream  of  soldiers  marching 
across  the  bridge  to  the  north  side.  The  fleet  had 
disappeared.     It  lay  sunk  in  the  harbor's  depths. 

The  retreat  had  begun  at  eight  o'clock  of  the 
evening  before,  soon  after  the  failure  to  retake  the 
Malakoff.  But  it  was  a  Moscow  the  Eussian  general 
proposed  to  leave  his  foes.  Combustibles  had  been 
stored  in  the  principal  houses.  About  two  o'clock 
flames  began  to  rise  from  these,  and  at  the  same 
hour  all  the  vessels  of  the  fleet  except  the  steamers 
Were  scuttled  and  sunk.  The  steamers  were  re- 
tained to  aid  in  carrying  off  the  stores.  A  terrific 
explosion  behind  the  Eedan  at  four  o'clock  shook  the 
whole  camp.  Four  others  equally  startling  followed. 
Battery  after  battery  was  hurled  into  the  air  by  the 
explosion  of  the  magazines.  Before  seven  o'clock 
the  last  of  the  Eussians  had  crossed  the  bridge  to  the 
north  side,  which  was  uninvested  by  the  allies,  and 


282  HISTORICAL  TALES. 

the  hill-sides  opposite  the  city  were  alive  with  troops. 
Smaller  explosions  followed.  From  a  steamer  in  the 
harbor  clouds  of  dense  smoke  arose.  Flames  spread 
rapidly,  and  by  ten  o'clock  the  whole  city  was  in  a 
blaze,  while  vast  columns  of  smoke  rose  far  into 
the  skies,  lurid  in  the  glare  of  the  flames  below. 
The  sounds  of  battle  had  ceased.  Those  of  con- 
flagration and  ruin  succeeded.  The  final  flames  were 
those  sent  up  from  the  steamers,  which  were  set  on 
fire  when  the  work  of  transporting  stores  had  ceased. 

Great  was  the  surprise  throughout  the  camp  that 
Sunday  morning  when  the  news  spread  that  Sebas- 
topol  was  on  fire  and  the  enemy  in  full  retreat. 
Most  of  the  soldiers,  worn  out  with  their  desperate 
day's  work,  slept  through  the  explosions  and  woke 
to  learn  that  the  city  so  long  fought  for  was  at  last 
theirs — or  so  much  of  it  as  the  flames  were  likely  to 
leave. 

About  midnight,  attracted  by  the  dead  silence, 
some  volunteers  had  crept  into  an  embrasure  of  the 
Eedan  and  found  the  place  deserted  by  the  foe.  As 
soon  as  dawn  appeared,  the  French  Zouaves  began 
to  steal  from  their  trenches  into  the  burning  town, 
heedless  of  the  flames,  the  explosions,  and  the  dan- 
ger of  being  shot  by  some  lurking  foe,  the  desire  for 
plunder  being  stronger  in  their  minds  than  dread 
of  danger.  Soon  the  red  uniforms  of  these  daring 
marauders  could  be  seen  in  the  streets,  revealed  by 
the  flames,  and  the  day  had  but  fairly  dawned  when 
men  came  staggering  back  laden  with  spoils,  Eus- 
sian  relics  being  offered  for  sale  in  the  camps  while 
the  Eussian  columns  were  still  marching  from  the 


THE  FALL  OF   SEBASTOPOL.  283 

deserted  city.  The  sailors  were  equally  alert,  and 
could  soon  be  seen  bearing  more  or  less  worthless 
lumber  from  the  streets,  often  useless  stuff  which 
they  had  risked  their  lives  to  gain. 

The  allies  had  won  a  city  in  ruins ;  but  they  had 
defeated  the  Eussians  at  every  encounter,  in  field 
and  in  fort,  and  the  Muscovite  resources  were  ex- 
hausted. The  war  must  soon  cease.  What  followed 
was  to  complete  the  destruction  which  the  torch 
had  began.  The  splendid  docks  which  Eussia  had 
constructed  at  immense  cost  were  mined  and  blown 
up.  The  houses  which  had  escaped  the  fire  were 
robbed  of  doors,  windows,  and  furniture  to  add  to 
the  comfort  of  the  huts  which  were  built  for  winter 
quarters  by  the  troops.  As  for  the  scene  of  ruin, 
disaster,  and  death  within  the  city,  it  was  frightful, 
and  it  was  evident  that  the  Eussians  bad  clung  to  it 
with  a  death-grip  until  it  was  impossible  to  remain. 
It  was  an  absolute  ruin  from  which  the  Sebastopol 
of  to-day  began  its  growth. 


AT  THE  GATES  OF  CONSTANTI- 
NOPLE. 

From  the  days  of  Eurik  down,  a  single  desire — a 
single  passion,  we  may  say — has  had  a  strong  hold 
upon  the  Russian  heart,  the  desire  to  possess  Con- 
stantinople, that  grand  gate-city  between  Europe 
and  Asia,  with  its  control  of  the  avenue  to  the 
southern  seas.  While  it  continued  the  capital  of  the 
Greek  empire  it  was  more  than  once  assailed  by 
Eussian  armies.  After  it  became  the  metropolis  of 
the  Turkish  dominion  renewed  attempts  were  made. 
But  Greek  and  Turk  alike  valiantly  held  their  own, 
and  the  city  of  the  straits  defied  its  northern  foes. 
Through  the  centuries  war  after  war  with  Turkey 
was  fought,  the  possession  of  Constantinople  their 
main  purpose,  but  the  Moslem  clung  to  his  capital 
with  fierce  pertinacity,  and  not  until  the  year  1878 
did  he  give  way  and  a  Eussian  army  set  eyes  on  the 
city  so  long  desired. 

In  1875  an  insurrection  broke  out  in  Bosnia  and 
Herzegovina,  two  Christian  provinces  under  Turkish 
rule.  The  rebellious  sentiment  spread  to  Bulgaria, 
and  in  1876  Turkey  began  a  policy  of  repression  so 
cruel  as  to  make  all  Europe  quiver  with  horror. 
Thousands  of  its  most  savage  soldiery  were  let  loose 
upon  the  Christian  populations  south  of  the  Balkans, 
with  full  license  to  murder  and  burn,  and  a  frightful 
284 


AT  THE  GATES  OP  CONSTANTINOPLE.      285 

carnival  of  torture  and  massacre  began.  More  than 
a  hundred  towns  were  destroyed,  and  their  inhabi- 
tants treated  with  revolting  inhumanity.  In  the 
month  of  June,  1876,  about  forty  thousand  Bulga- 
rians, of  all  ages  and  sexes,  were  put  to  death,  many 
of  the  children  being  sold  as  slaves  in  the  Turkish 
cities. 

Of  all  the  powers  of  Europe,  Eussia  was  the  only 
one  that  took  arms  to  avenge  these  slaughtered 
populations.  England  stood  impassive,  the  other 
nations  held  aloof,  but  Alexander  II.  called  out  his 
troops,  and  once  more  the  Kussian  battalions  were 
set  en  route  for  the  Danube,  with  Constantinople  as 
their  ultimate  goal. 

In  June,  1877,  the  Danube  was  crossed  and  the 
Kussian  host  entered  Bulgaria,  the  Turks  retiring  as 
they  advanced.  But  the  march  of  invasion  was 
soon  arrested.  The  Balkan  Mountains,  nature's  line 
of  defence  for  Turkey,  lay  before  the  Eussian  troops, 
and  on  the  high-road  to  its  passes  stood  the  town  of 
Plevna,  a  fortress  which  must  be  taken  before  the 
mountains  could  safely  be  crossed.  The  works  were 
very  strong,  and  behind  them  lay  Osman  Pacha,  one 
of  the  boldest  and  bravest  of  the  Turkish  soldiers, 
with  a  gallant  little  army  under  his  command.  The 
defence  of  this  city  was  the  central  event  of  the  war. 
From  July  to  September  the  Eussians  sought  its 
capture,  making  three  desperate  assaults,  all  of  which 
were  repulsed.  In  October  the  city  was  invested 
with  an  army  of  forty  thousand  men,  under  the  in- 
trepid General  Skobeleff,  with  a  determination  to 
win.     But  Osman  held  out  with  all  his  old  stubborn- 


286  HISTORICAL  TALES. 

ness,  and  continued  his  unflinching  defence  until 
starvation  forced  him  to  yield.  He  had  lost  his  city, 
but  had  held  back  the  Kussian  army  for  nearly  half 
a  year  and  won  the  admiration  of  the  world. 

The  fall  of  Plevna  set  free  the  large  Eussian  army 
that  had  been  tied  up  by  its  siege.  What  should  be 
done  with  these  troops,  more  than  one  hundred  thou- 
sand strong?  The  Balkans,  whose  gateways  Plevna 
had  closed,  now  lay  open  before  them,  but  winter 
was  at  hand,  winter  with  its  frosts  and  snows.  An 
attempt  to  cross  the  mountains  at  this  time,  even  if 
successful,  would  bring  them  before  strong  Turkish 
fortresses  in  midwinter,  with  a  chain  of  mountains 
in  the  rear,  over  which  it  would  be  impossible  to 
maintain  a  line  of  supplies.  The  prudent  course 
would  have  been  to  put  the  men  into  winter  quar- 
ters at  the  foot  of  the  Balkans  on  the  north  and 
wait  for  spring  before  venturing  upon  the  mountain 
passes. 

The  Grand  Duke  IS^icholas,  however,  was  not  gov- 
erned by  such  considerations  of  prudence,  but  deter- 
mined, at  all  hazards,  to  strike  the  Turks  before  they 
had  time  to  reorganize  and  recuperate.  The  army 
was,  therefore,  at  once  set  in  motion.  General  Gourko 
marching  upon  the  Araba-Konak,  Eadetzky  upon 
the  Shipka  Pass.  The  story  of  these  movements  is 
a  long  one,  but  must  be  given  here  in  a  few  words. 
The  bitter  cold,  the  deep  snow,  the  natural  difficul- 
ties of  the  passes,  the  efforts  of  the  enemy,  all  failed 
to  check  the  Kussian  advance.  Gourko  forced  his 
way  through  all  opposition,  took  the  powerful  for- 
tress of  Sophia  without  a  blow,  and  routed  an  army 


AT  THE   GATES   OP  CONSTANTINOPLE.  287 

of  fifty  thousand  men  on  his  march  to  Philippopolis. 
Eadetzky  did  even  better,  since  he  captured  the 
Turkish  army  defending  the  Shipka  Pass,  thirty-six 
thousand  strong.  The  whole  Turkish  defence  of  the 
Balkans  had  gone  down  with  a  crash,  and  the  Eus- 
sians  found  themselves  on  the  south  side  of  the 
mountains  with  the  enemy  everywhere  on  the  retreat, 
a  broken  and  demoralized  host. 

Meanwhile  what  had  become  of  the  Turkish  pop- 
ulation of  the  Balkans  and  Eoumelia  ?  There  were 
none  of  them  to  be  seen ;  no  fugitives  were  passed ; 
not  a  Turk  was  visible  in  Sophia ;  the  whole  region 
traversed  up  to  Philippopolis  seemed  to  have  only  a 
Christian  population.  But  on  leaving  the  last-named 
city  the  situation  changed,  and  a  terrible  scene  of 
bloodshed,  death,  and  misery  met  the  eyes  of  the 
marching  hosts.  It  was  now  easy  to  see  what  had 
become  of  the  Turks :  they  were  here  in  multitudes 
in  full  flight  for  their  lives.  The  Bulgarians  had 
avenged  themselves  bitterly  on  their  late  oppressors. 
Dead  bodies  of  men  and  animals,  broken  carts,  heaps 
of  abandoned  household  goods,  and  tatters  of  clothing 
seemed  to  mark  every  step  of  the  way.  Fierce  and 
terrible  had  been  the  struggle,  dreadful  the  result, 
Turks  and  Bulgarians  lying  thickly  side  by  side 
in  death.  Here  appeared  the  bodies  of  Bulgarian 
peasants  horrible  with  gaping  wounds  and  mutila- 
tions, the  marks  of  Turkish  vengeance ;  there  beside 
them  lay  corpses  of  dignified  old  Turks,  their  white 
beards  stained  with  their  blood. 

While  the  men  had  died  from  violence,  the  women 
and  children  had  perished  from  cold  and  hunger, 


288  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

many  of  them  being  frozen  to  death,  the  faces  and 
tiny  hands  of  dead  children  visible  through  the 
shrouding  snows.  The  living  were  dragging  their 
slow  way  onward  through  this  ghastly  array  of  the 
dead,  in  a  seemingly  endless  procession  of  wagons, 
drawn  by  half- starved  oxen,  and  bearing  sick  and 
feeble  human  beings  and  loads  of  household  goods. 
Beside  the  laden  vehicles  the  wretched,  famine- 
stricken,  worn-out  fugitives  walked,  pushing  forward 
in  unceasing  fear  of  their  merciless  Bulgarian  foes. 

Farther  on  the  scene  grew  even  more  terrible.  The 
road  was  strewn  with  discarded  bedding,  carpets,  and 
other  household  goods.  In  one  village  were  visible 
the  bodies  of  some  Turkish  soldiers  whom  the  Bul- 
garians had  stoned  to  death,  the  corpses  half  covered 
with  the  heaps  of  stones  and  bricks  which  had  been 
hurled  at  them. 

Beyond  this  was  reached  a  vast  mass  of  closely 
packed  wagons  extending  widely  over  roads  and 
fields,  not  fewer  than  twenty  thousand  in  all.  The 
oxen  were  still  in  the  yokes,  but  the  people  had  van- 
ished, and  Bulgarian  plunderers  were  helping  them- 
selves unresisted  to  the  spoil.  The  great  company, 
numbering  fully  two  hundred  thousand,  had  fled  in 
terror  to  the  mountains  from  some  Russian  cavalry 
who  had  been  fired  upon  by  the  escort  of  the  fugi- 
tives and  were  about  to  fire  in  return.  Abandoning 
their  property,  the  able-bodied  had  fled  in  panic  fear, 
leaving  the  old,  the  sick,  and  the  infants  to  perish 
in  the  snow,  and  their  cherished  eifects  to  the  hands 
of  Bulgarian  pilferers. 

In  advance  lay  Adrianople,  the  ancient  capital  of 


AT  THE  GATES  OP  CONSTANTINOPLE.      289 

Turkey  and  the  second  city  in  the  empire.  Here,  if 
anywhere,  the  Turks  should  have  made  a  stand.  But 
news  came  tliat  this  stronghold  had  been  abandoned 
by  its  garrison,  that  the  wildest  panic  prevailed,  and 
that  the  Turkish  population  of  the  city  and  the  sur- 
rounding villages  was  in  full  flight.  At  daylight  of 
the  20th  of  January  the  city  was  entered  by  the 
cavalry,  and  on  the  22d  Skobeleff  marched  in  with 
his  infantry,  at  once  despatching  the  cavalry  in 
pursuit  of  the  retreating  enemy.  The  defence  of 
Adrianople  had  been  well  provided  for  by  an  exten- 
sive system  of  earthworks,  but  not  an  eifort  was 
made  to  hold  it,  and  an  incredible  panic  seemed 
everywhere  to  have  seized  the  Turks. 

Eussia  had  almost  accomplished  the  task  for  which 
it  had  been  striving  during  ten  centuries.  Constan- 
tinople at  last  lay  at  its  mercy.  The  Turks  still  had 
an  army,  still  had  strong  positions  for  defence,  but 
every  shred  of  courage  seemed  to  have  fled  from 
their  hearts,  and  their  powers  of  resistance  to  be  at 
an  end.  They  were  in  a  state  of  utter  demoralization 
and  ready  to  give  way  to  Eussia  at  all  points  and 
accept  almost  any  terms  they  could  obtain.  Had 
they  decided  to  continue  the  fight,  they  still  pos- 
sessed a  position  famous  for  its  adaptation  to  de- 
fence, behind  which  it  was  possible  to  hold  at  bay  all 
the  power  of  Eussia. 

This  was  the  celebrated  position  of  Buyak-Tchek- 
medje,  a  defensive  line  twenty-five  miles  from  Con- 
stantinople and  of  remarkable  military  strength. 
The  peninsula  between  the  Black  Sea  and  the  Sea  of 
Marmora  is  at  this  point  only  twenty  miles  wide, 

19 


290  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

and  twelve  of  these  miles  are  occupied  by  broad  lakes 
which  extend  inland  from  either  shore.  Of  the  re- 
maining distance,  about  half  is  made  up  of  swamps 
which  are  almost  or  quite  impassable,  while  dense  and 
difficult  thickets  occupy  the  rest  of  the  line.  Behind 
this  stretch  of  lake,  swamp,  and  thicket  there  extends 
from  sea  to  sea  a  ridge  from  four  hundred  to  seven 
hundred  feet  in  height,  the  whole  forming  a  most  ad- 
mirable position  for  defence.  This  ridge  had  been 
fortified  by  the  Turks  with  redoubts,  trenches,  and 
rifle-pits,  which,  fully  garrisoned  and  mounted  with 
guns,  might  have  proved  impregnable  to  the  strongest 
force.  The  thirty  thousand  men  within  them  could 
have  given  great  trouble  to  the  whole  Russian  army, 
and  double  that  number  might  have  completely  ar- 
rested its  march.  Yet  this  great  natural  stronghold 
was  given  up  without  a  blow,  signed  away  with  a 
stroke  of  the  pen. 

On  January  31  an  armistice  was  signed,  one  of 
whose  terms  was  that  this  formidable  defensive  line 
should  be  evacuated  by  the  Turks,  who  were  to 
retire  to  an  inner  line,  while  the  Russians  were  to 
occupy  a  position  about  ten  miles  distant.  It  was 
no  consideration  for  Turkey  that  now  kept  the 
Russians  outside  the  great  capital,  but  dread  of  the 
powers  of  Europe,  which  jealously  distrusted  an  in- 
crease of  the  power  of  Russia,  and  were  bent  on 
saving  Turkey  from  the  hands  of  the  czar. 

On  February  12  an  event  took  place  that  threat- 
ened ominous  results.  The  British  fleet  forced  the 
passage  of  the  Dardanelles  and  moved  upon  Constan- 
tinople, on  the  pretence  of  protecting  the  lives  of 


AT  THE  GATES  OF  CONSTANTINOPLE.      291 

British  subjects  in  that  city.  As  soon  as  news  of 
this  movement  reached  St.  Petersburg  the  emperor 
telegraphed  to  the  Grand  Duke  Nicholas,  giving  him 
authority  to  march  a  part  of  his  army  into  Con- 
stantinople, on  the  same  plea  that  the  British  had 
made.  In  response  the  grand  duke  demanded  of 
the  sultan  the  right  to  occupy  a  part  of  the  en- 
virons of  his  capital  with  Kussian  soldiers,  the  ne- 
gotiations ending  with  the  permission  to  occupy  the 
village  of  San  Stefano,  on  the  Sea  of  Marmora,  about 
six  miles  from  the  walls  of  the  threatened  city. 

What  would  be  the  end  of  it  all  was  difficult  to 
foresee.  On  the  waters  of  the  city  floated  the  Eng- 
lish iron-clads,  with  their  mute  threat  of  war ;  around 
the  walls  Turkish  troops  were  rapidly  throwing  up 
earthworks ;  leading  officers  in  the  Eussian  army 
chafed  at  the  thought  of  stopping  so  near  their 
longed-for  goal,  and  burned  with  the  desire  to  make 
a  final  end  of  the  empire  of  the  Turks  and  add 
Constantinople  to  the  dominions  of  the  czar.  Yet 
though  thus,  as  it  were,  on  the  edge  of  a  volcano, 
their  ordinary  policy  of  delay  and  hesitation  was 
shown  by  the  Turkish  diplomats,  and  the  treaty  of 
peace  was  not  concluded  and  signed  until  the  3d  of 
March.  The  Eussians  had  used  their  controlling 
position  with  effect,  and  the  treaty  largely  put  an 
end  to  Turkish  dominion  in  Europe. 

The  news  of  the  signing  was  received  with  cheers 
of  enthusiasm  by  the  Eussian  army,  drawn  up  on 
the  shores  of  the  inland  sea,  the  Preobrajensky, 
the  famous  regiment  of  Peter  the  Great,  holding  the 
post  of  honor.    Scarce  a  rifle-shot  distant,  crowding 


292  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

in  groups  the  crests  of  the  neighboring  hills,  and 
deeply  interested  spectators  of  the  scene,  appeared 
numbers  of  their  late  opponents.  The  news  re- 
ceived, the  cheering  battalions  wheeled  into  column, 
and  past  the  grand  duke  went  the  army  in  rapid 
review,  the  march  still  continuing  after  darkness 
had  descended  on  the  scene. 

And  thus  ended  the  war,  with  the  Eussians  within 
sight  of  the  walls  of  that  city  which  for  so  many 
centuries  they  had  longed  and  struggled  to  possess. 
Only  for  the  threatening  aspect  of  the  powers  of 
Europe  the  Ottoman  empire  would  have  ended  then 
and  there,  and  the  Turk,  "  encamped  in  Europe," 
would  have  ended  forever  his  rule  over  Christian 
realms. 


THE  NIHILISTS  AND  THEIR 
WORK, 

In  1861  Alexander  II.,  Emperor  of  Eussia,  signed 
a  proclamation  for  the  emancipation  of  the  Eussian 
serfs,  giving  freedom  by  a  stroke  of  the  pen  to  over 
fifty  millions  of  human  beings.  In  1881,  twenty 
years  afterwards,  when,  as  there  is  some  reason  to 
believe,  he  was  about  to  grant  a  constitution  and 
summon  a  parliament  for  the  political  emancipation 
of  the  Eussian  people,  he  fell  victim  to  a  band  of 
revolutionists,  and  the  thought  of  granting  liberty 
to  his  people  perished  with  him. 

This  assassination  was  the  work  of  the  secret 
society  known  as  the  Nihilists.  To  say  that  their 
association  was  secret  is  equivalent  to  saying  that 
we  know  nothing  of  their  purposes  other  than  their 
name  and  their  deeds  Indicate.  Nihilism  signifies 
nothingness.  It  comes  from  the  same  root  as  anni- 
hilate, and  annihilation  of  despots  appears  to  have 
been  the  Mhilist  theory  of  obtaining  political  rights. 
This  society  reached  its  culmination  in  the  reign  of 
Alexander  II.,  and,  despite  the  fact  that  he  proved 
himself  one  of  the  mildest  and  most  public-spirited  of 
the  czars,  he  was  chosen  as  the  victim  of  the  theory 
of  obtaining  political  regeneration  by  terror. 

Threats  preceded  deeds.  The  final  years  of  the 
emperor's  fife  were  made  wretched  through  fear  and 

293 


294  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

anxiety.  His  ministers  were  killed  by  the  revolu- 
tionists. Some  of  the  guards  placed  about  his  per- 
son became  victims  of  the  secret  band.  Letters  bor- 
dered with  black  and  threatening  the  emperor's  life 
were  found  among  his  papers  or  his  clothes.  An 
explosive  powder  placed  in  his  handkerchief  injured 
his  sight  for  a  time;  a  box  of  asthma  pills  sent  him 
proved  to  contain  a  small  but  dangerous  infernal 
machine.  He  grew  haggard  through  this  constant 
peril ;  his  hair  whitened,  his  form  shrank,  his  nerves 
were  unstrung. 

In  February,  1879,  Prince  Krapotkin,  governor- 
general  of  Kharkoff,  was  killed  by  a  pistol-shot  fired 
into  his  carriage  window.  In  April  a  Nihilist  fired 
five  pistol-shots  at  the  czar.  In  June  the  Nihilists 
resolved  to  use  dynamite  with  the  purpose  of  de- 
stroying the  governors-general  of  several  provinces 
and  the  czar  and  heir-apparent.  Among  their  vic- 
tims was  the  chief  of  police,  while  two  of  his  suc- 
cessors barely  escaped  death. 

The  first  attempt  to  kill  the  czar  by  dynamite 
took  the  form  of  excavating  mines  under  three  rail- 
roads on  one  of  which  he  was  expected  to  travel. 
Of  these  mines  only  one  was  exploded.  A  house  on 
the  Moscow  railroad,  not  far  from  that  city,  was  pur- 
chased by  the  conspirators,  and  an  underground 
passage  excavated  from  its  cellar  to  the  roadway. 
Here  auger-holes  were  bored  upward  in  which  were 
inserted  iron  pipes  communicating  with  dynamite 
stored  below.  On  the  day  when  the  emperor  was 
expected  to  pass,  a  woman  Nihilist  named  Sophia 
Perovskya  stood  within  view  of  the  track,  with  in- 


THE   NIHILISTS   AND   THEIR  WORK.  295 

structions  to  wave  her  handkerchief  to  the  conspira- 
tors in  the  house  at  the  proper  moment.  The  pilot 
train  which  always  preceded  the  imperial  train  was 
allowed  to  pass.  The  other  train  drew  up  to  take 
water,  and  was  wrecked  by  the  explosion  of  the 
mine.  Fortunately  for  the  emperor,  he  was  in  the 
pilot  train  and  out  of  danger. 

Some  of  the  participants  in  this  affair  were  ar- 
rested, but  their  chief,  a  German  named  Hartmann, 
escaped.  Despite  the  utmost  efforts  of  the  police,  he 
made  his  way  safely  out  of  Eussia,  aided  by  Nihilists 
at  every  step,  sometimes  travelling  on  foot,  at  other 
times  in  peasants'  carts,  finally  crossing  the  frontier 
and  reaching  the  nest  of  conspirators  at  Geneva. 
Here  he  is  supposed  to  have  taken  part  with  others 
in  devising  a  new  and  what  proved  a  fatal  plot. 
Meanwhile  a  fresh  attempt  was  made  on  the  life  of 
the  czar. 

On  February  5,  1880,  Alexander  II.  was  to  enter- 
tain at  dinner  in  the  Winter  Palace  a  royal  visitor. 
Prince  Alexander  of  Hesse.  Fortunately,  the  czar 
was  detained  for  a  short  time,  and  the  hour  fixed  for 
the  dinner  had  passed  when  the  party  proceeded 
along  the  corridor  to  the  dining-hall.  The  brief  delay 
probably  saved  their  lives,  for  at  that  moment  a  tre- 
mendous explosion  took  place,  wrecking  the  dining- 
hall  and  completely  demolishing  the  guard-room, 
which  was  filled  with  dead  and  dying  victims,  sixty- 
seven  in  all.  It  proved  that  a  Nihilist  had  obtained 
employment  among  some  carpenters  engaged  in  re- 
pairs within  the  palace,  and  had  succeeded  in  storing 
dynamite  in  a  tool-chest  in  his  room.     He  escaped, 


296  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

and  was  never  seen  in  St.  Petersburg  again.  Two 
days  later  the  corpse  of  a  murdered  policeman  was 
found  on  the  frozen  surface  of  the  Neva,  a  paper 
pinned  to  his  breast  threatening  with  death  every 
governor-general  except  Mehkoff,  the  successor  of 
the  murdered  Krapotkin. 

Their  failures  had  proved  so  nearly  successes  that 
the  Nihilists  were  rather  encouraged  than  depressed. 
New  plans  followed  the  failure  of  old  ones.  It  was 
proposed  to  poison  the  emperor  and  his  son,  the 
murder  to  be  followed  by  a  revolt  of  the  disaffected 
in  Moscow  and  St.  Petersburg,  the  seizure  of  the  pal- 
aces, and  the  establishment  of  a  constitutional  gov- 
ernment. This  plan,  however,  was  given  up  as  not 
likely  to  have  the  ^^  great  moral  effecf  which  the 
Nihihsts  hoped  to  produce. 

A  Nihilist  student  in  St.  Petersburg  had  sent  to 
the  Paris  committee  of  the  society  a  recipe  for  a 
formidable  explosive  of  his  invention.  A  quantity 
of  this  dangerous  substance  was  manufactured  in 
France  and  secretly  conveyed  to  St.  Petersburg, 
where  bombs  to  contain  it  had  been  prepared.  The 
plans  of  the  conspirators  were  now  very  carefully 
laid.  They  did  not  propose  to  fail  again,  if  care 
could  insure  success.  A  cheesemonger's  shop  was 
opened  on  a  street  leading  to  the  palace,  under 
which  a  mine  was  laid  to  the  centre  of  the  carriage- 
way, it  being  proposed  to  kill  the  czar  when  out 
driving.  If  his  carriage  should  take  another  route 
and  follow  the  street  leading  from  the  Catharine  Ca- 
nal, it  was  arranged  to  wreck  it  with  bombs  flung 
by  hand.     The  death  of  the  czar  was  the  sole  thing 


THE   NIHILISTS  AND   THEIR  WORK.  29T 

in  view.  The  conspirators  seemed  willing  freely  to 
sacrifice  their  own  lives  to  that  object.  As  regards 
the  mine,  it  was  so  heavily  charged  with  dynamite 
that  its  explosion  would  have  wrecked  a  great  part 
of  the  Anitchkoif  Palace  while  killing  the  czar. 

How  the  explosive  material  was  conveyed  from 
Paris  to  Russia  is  a  mystery  which  was  never  suc- 
cessfully traced  by  the  police.  The  utmost  care  was 
taken  at  the  frontiers  to  prevent  the  entrance  of  any 
suspicious  substance.  For  a  year  or  two  even  the  tea 
that  came  on  the  backs  of  camels  from  China  was 
carefully  searched,  while  all  travellers  were  closely 
examined,  and  all  articles  coming  from  Western 
Europe  were  almost  pulled  to  pieces  in  the  minute- 
ness of  the  scrutiny.  The  explosive  is  said  to  have 
looked  like  golden  syrup,  and  to  have  been  sweet  to 
the  taste,  though  acrid  in  its  after-effects.  A  drop 
or  two  let  fall  on  a  hot  stove  flashed  up  in  a  brilliant 
sheet  of  flame,  though  without  smell  or  noise. 

Among  the  conspirators,  one  of  the  most  useful 
was  Sophia  Perovskya,  the  woman  already  named. 
She  was  young,  of  noble  family,  handsome,  edu- 
cated, and  fascinating  in  manner.  Her  beauty  and 
high  connections  gave  her  opportunities  which  none 
of  her  fellow-conspirators  enjoyed,  and  by  her  in- 
fluence over  men  of  rank  and  position  she  was  en- 
abled to  learn  many  of  the  secrets  of  the  court  and 
to  become  familiar  with  all  the  precautions  taken  by 
the  police  to  insure  the  safety  of  the  czar.  There  was 
another  woman  in  the  plot,  a  Jewish  girl  named 
Hesse  Helfman.  Eight  men  constituted  the  re- 
mainder of  the  party. 


298  HISTORICAL  TALES. 

The  fatal  day  came  in  March,  1881.  On  the  morn- 
ing of  the  12th  Melikoff,  minister  of  the  interior, 
told  the  czar  that  a  man  connected  with  the  railroad 
explosion  had  just  been  arrested,  on  whose  person 
were  found  papers  indicating  a  new  plot.  He  ear- 
nestly entreated  Alexander  to  avoid  exposing  him- 
self. On  the  next  morning  the  czar  went  early  to 
mass,  and  subsequently  accompanied  his  brother,  the 
Grand  Duke  Michael,  to  inspect  his  body-guard.  So- 
phia Perovskya  had  been  apprised  of  these  intended 
movements,  and  informed  the  chief  conspirators,  who 
at  once,  determined  that  the  deed  should  be  done 
that  day.  The  lover  of  Hesse  Helfman  had  been 
arrested  and  had  at  once  shot  himself.  Papers  of 
an  incriminating  character  had  been  found  in  her 
house,  and  it  was  feared  that  further  delay  might 
frustrate  the  plot,  so  that  the  purpose  of  waiting 
until  the  czar  and  his  son  might  be  slain  together 
was  abandoned.  It  was  not  known  which  street  the 
czar  would  take.  If  he  took  the  one,  the  mine  was 
to  be  exploded  ;  if  the  other,  the  bombs  were  to  be 
thrown. 

Two  men,  Resikoff  and  Elnikoff,  the  latter  a 
young  man  completely  under  Sophia's  influence, 
were  to  throw  the  bombs.  She  took  a  position  from 
which  she  might  signal  the  approach  of  the  carriage. 
As  it  proved,  the  Catharine  Canal  route  was  taken. 
The  carriage  approached.  Everything  wore  its 
usual  aspect.  There  was  nothing  to  excite  sus- 
picion. Suddenly  a  dark  object  was  hurled  from 
the  sidewalk  through  the  air  and  a  tremendous  re- 
port was  heard.     Resikoff  had  flung  his  bomb.     A 


THE   NIHILISTS  AND  THEIR  WORK.  299 

baker's  boy  and  the  Cossack  footman  of  the  czar 
were  instantly  killed,  but  the  intended  victim  was 
unhurt  and  the  horses  were  only  slightly  wounded. 
The  coachman,  who  had  escaped  injury,  wished  to 
drive  onward  at  speed  out  of  the  quickly  gathering 
crowd,  but  Alexander,  who  had  seen  his  footman 
fall,  insisted  on  getting  out  of  the  carriage  to  assist 
him.  It  was  a  fatal  resolve.  As  his  feet  touched 
the  ground,  Elnikoif  flung  his  bomb.  It  exploded 
at  the  feet  of  the  czar  with  such  force  as  to  throw 
men  many  yards  distant  to  the  ground,  but  proved 
fatal  to  only  two,  Elnikoff,  who  was  instantly  killed, 
and  Alexander,  who  was  mortally  wounded,  his  lower 
limbs  and  the  lower  part  of  his  body  being  frightfully 
shattered.  He  survived  for  a  few  hours  in  dreadful 
pain. 

Terrible  as  was  the  crime,  it  was  worse  than  use- 
less. The  proposed  rising  did  not  take  place.  A 
new  czar  immediately  succeeded  the  dead  one.  The 
hoped-for  constitution  perished  with  him  upon  whom 
it  depended.  The  Nihilists,  instead  of  gaining  lib- 
eral institutions,  had  set  back  the  clock  of  reform 
for  a  generation,  and  perhaps  much  longer.  Of  the 
conspirators,  one  of  the  men  was  killed,  one  shot 
himself,  and  two  escaped  ;  the  other  four  were  exe- 
cuted. Of  the  women,  Sophia  was  executed.  She 
knew  too  much,  and  those  who  had  betrayed  to  her 
the  secrets  of  the  court,  fearing  that  she  might  im- 
plicate them,  privately  urged  the  new  czar  to  sign 
her  death-warrant.  She  held  her  peace,  and  died 
without  a  word. 


THE  ADVANCE  OF  RUSSIA  IN 
ASIA. 

The  Emperor  of  Eussia,  lord  of  his  people,  abso- 
lute autocrat  over  some  one  hundred  and  twenty-five 
millions  of  the  human  race,  to-day  stands  master 
not  only  of  half  the  soil  of  Europe  but  of  more  than 
a  third  of  the  far  greater  continent  of  Asia.  To 
gain  some  definite  idea  of  the  total  extent  of  this 
vast  empire  it  may  suffice  to  say  that  it  is  con- 
siderably more  than  double  the  size  of  Europe,  and 
nearly  as  large  as  the  whole  of  I^orth  America. 
The  tales  already  given  will  serve  to  show  how  the 
European  empire  of  Eussia  gradually  spread  out- 
ward from  its  early  home  in  the  city  and  state  of 
Novgorod  until  it  covered  half  the  continent.  How 
Eussia  made  its  way  into  Asia  has  been  described  in 
part  in  the  story  of  the  conquest  of  Siberia.  The 
remainder  needs  to  be  told. 

It  is  now  more  than  three  hundred  years  since  the 
Cossack  robber  Yermak  invaded  Siberia,  and  more 
than  two  centuries  since  that  vast  section  of  North- 
ern Asia  was  added  to  the  Eussian  empire.  The  great 
river  Amur,  flowing  far  through  Eastern  Siberia  to 
the  Pacific,  was  discovered  in  1643  by  a  party  of 
Cossack  hunters,  who  launched  their  boats  on  this 
magnificent  stream  and  sailed  down  it  to  the  sea. 
It  was  Chinese  soil  through  which  it  ran,  its  waters 
300 


DOWAGER    CZARINA   OF    RUSSIA. 


THE  ADVANCE   OF  RUSSIA  IN   ASIA.  301 

flowing  through  the  province  of  Manchuria,  the 
native  land  of  the  emperors  of  China. 

But  to  this  the  Eussian  pioneers  paid  little  heed. 
They  invaded  Chinese  soil,  built  forts  on  the  Amur, 
and  for  forty  years  war  went  on.  In  the  end  they 
were  driven  out,  and  China  came  to  her  own  again. 

Thus  matters  stood  until  the  year  1854.  Six  years 
before,  an  officer  with  four  Cossacks  had  been  sent 
down  the  river  to  spy  out  the  land.  They  never  re- 
turned, and  not  a  word  could  be  had  from  China  as 
to  their  fate.  In  the  year  named  the  Kussians  ex- 
plored the  river  in  force.  China  protested,  but  did 
not  act,  and  the  whole  vast  territory  north  of  the 
stream  was  proclaimed  as  Eussian  soil.  Forts  were 
built  to  make  good  the  claim,  and  China  helplessly 
yielded  to  the  gigantic  steal.  Since  then  Eussia  has 
laid  hands  on  an  extensive  slice  of  Chinese  territory 
which  lies  on  the  Pacific  coast  far  to  the  south  of 
the  Amur,  and  has  forcibly  taken  possession  of  the 
Japanese  island  of  Saghalien.  Her  avaricious  eyes 
are  fixed  on  the  kingdom  of  Corea,  and  the  whole 
of  Manchuria  may  yet  become  Eussian  soil. 

Siberia  is  by  no  means  the  inhospitable  land  of 
ice  which  the  name  suggests  to  our  minds.  That 
designation  applies  well  to  its  northern  half,  but  not 
to  the  Siberia  of  the  south.  Here  are  vast  fertile 
plains,  prolific  in  grain,  which  need  only  the  coming 
railroad  facilities  to  make  this  region  the  granary 
of  the  Eussian'  empire.  The  great  rivers  and  the 
numerous  lakes  of  the  country  abound  in  valuable 
fish ;  large  forests  of  useful  timber  are  everywhere 
found;  fur-bearing  animals  yield  a  rich  harvest  ia 


302  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

the  icy  regions  of  the  north ;  the  mineral  wealth 
is  immense,  including  iron,  gold,  silver,  platinum, 
copper,  and  lead ;  precious  stones  are  widely  found, 
among  them  the  diamond,  emerald,  topaz,  and  ame- 
thyst ;  and  of  ornamental  stones  may  be  named 
malachite,  jasper,  and  porphyry,  from  which  mag- 
nificent vases,  tables,  and  other  articles  of  ornanaent 
are  made.  The  region  on  the  Amur  and  its  tribu- 
taries is  particularly  valuable  and  rich,  and  a  great 
population  is  destined  in  the  future  to  find  an  abid- 
ing-place in  this  vast  domain. 

South  of  Siberia  lies  another  immense  extent  of 
territory,  stretching  across  the  continent,  and  com- 
prising the  great  upland  plain  known  as  the  steppes. 
On  this  broad  expanse  rain  rarely  falls,  and  its  sur- 
face is  half  a  desert,  unfit  for  agriculture,  but  yield- 
ing pasturage  to  vast  herds  of  cattle,  horses,  and 
sheep,  the  property  of  wandering  tribes.  Here  is 
the  great  home  of  the  nomad,  and  from  these  broad 
plains  conquering  hordes  have  poured  again  and 
again  over  the  civilized  world.  From  here  came  the 
Huns,  who  devastated  Europe  in  Eoman  days ;  the 
Turks,  who  later  overthrew  the  Eastern  Empire ;  and 
the  Mongols,  who,  led  by  Genghis  and  Tamerlane, 
committed  frightful  ravages  in  Asia  and  for  cen- 
turies lorded  it  over  Eussia. 

To-day  the  greater  part  of  this  vast  territory  be- 
longs to  China.  But  westward  from  Chinese  Mongo- 
lia extends  a  broad  region  of  the  steppes,  bordering 
upon  Europe  on  the  west,  and  traversed  by  numer- 
ous wandering  tribes  known  by  the  name  of  the 
Kirghis  hordes.     For  many  years  Eussia,  the  great 


THE   ADVANCE   OF  RUSSIA   IN  ASIA.  303 

annexer,  has  been  quietly  extending  her  power  over 
the  domain  of  the  hordes,  until  her  rule  has  become 
supreme  in  the  land  of  the  Kirghis,  which  in  all 
maps  of  Europe  is  now  given  as  part  of  Siberia. 

One  by  one  military  posts  have  been  established 
in  this  semi-desert  realm,  the  wandering  tribes  being 
at  first  cajoled  and  in  the  end  defied.  The  glove  of 
silk  has  been  at  first  extended  to  the  tribes,  but 
within  it  the  hand  of  iron  has  always  held  fast  its 
grasp.  The  simple-minded  chiefs  have  easily  been 
brought  over  to  the  Eussian  schemes.  Some  of 
them  have  been  won  by  money  and  soft  words; 
others  by  some  mark  of  distinction,  such  as  a  medal, 
a  handsome  sabre,  a  cocked  hat  or  a  gold-laced  coat. 
Eather  than  give  these  up  some  of  them  would  have 
sold  half  the  steppes.  They  have  signed  papers  of 
which  they  did  not  understand  a  word,  and  given  away 
rights  of  whose  value  they  were  utterly  ignorant. 

Thus  insidiously  has  the  power  of  the  emperor 
made  its  way  into  the  steppes,  fort  after  fort  being 
built,  those  in  the  rear  being  abandoned  as  the 
country  became  subdued  and  new  forts  arose  in  the 
south.  Cities  have  risen  around  some  of  these 
forts,  of  which  may  be  mentioned  Kopal  and  Yer- 
noje,  which  to-day  have  thousands  of  inhabitants. 

"  Eussia  is  thus  surrounding  the  Kirgheez  hordes 
with  civilization,"  says  the  traveller  Atkinson, 
"  which  will  ultimately  bring  about  a  moral  revolu- 
tion in  this  country.  Agriculture  and  other  branches 
of  industry  will  be  introduced  by  the  Eussian  peas- 
ant, than  whom  no  man  can  better  adapt  himself  to 
circumstances." 


304  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

Michie,  another  traveller,  gives  in  brief  the  gen- 
eral method  of  the  Eussian  advance.  It  will  be 
seen  to  be  similar  to  that  by  which  the  Indian 
lands  of  the  western  United  States  were  gained. 
"  The  Cossacks  at  Eussian  stations  make  raids  on 
their  own  account  on  the  Kirgheez,  and  subject  them 
to  rough  treatment.  An  outbreak  occurs  which  it 
requires  a  military  force  to  subdue.  An  expedition 
for  this  purpose  is  sent  every  year  to  the  Kirgheez 
steppes.  The  Eussian  outposts  are  pushed  farther 
and  farther  south,  more  disturbances  occur,  and  so  the 
front  is  year  by  year  extended,  on  pretence  of  keeping 
peace.  This  has  been  the  system  pursued  by  the 
Eussian  government  in  all  its  aggressions  in  Asia." 

But  this  does  not  tell  the  whole  story  of  the  Eus- 
sian advance  in  Asia.  South  of  the  Kirghis  steppes 
lies  another  great  and  important  territory,  known 
as  Central  Asia,  or  Turkestan.  Much  of  this  region 
is  absolute  desert,  wide  expanses  of  sand,  waterless 
and  lifeless,  on  which  to  halt  is  to  court  death.  Only 
swift-moving  troops  of  horsemen,  or  caravans  carry- 
ing their  own  supplies,  dare  venture  upon  these  arid 
plains.  But  within  this  realm  of  sand  lie  a  number 
of  oases  whose  soil  is  well  watered  and  of  the  highest 
fertility.  Two  mighty  rivers  traverse  these  lands, 
the  Amu-Daria — once  known  as  the  Oxus — and  the 
Syr-Daria — formerly  the  Jaxartes, — both  of  which 
flow  into  the  Sea  of  Aral.  It  is  to  the  waters  of 
these  streams  that  the  fertility  of  the  oases  is  due, 
they  being  diverted  from  their  course  to  irrigate  the 
land. 

Three  of  the  oases  are  of  large  size.     Of  these 


THE   ADVANCE   OF  RUSSIA   IN   ASIA.  305 

Khiva  has  the  Caspian  Sea  as  its  western  boundary, 
Bokhara  lies  more  to  the  east,  while  northeast  of  the 
latter  extends  Khokand.  The  deserts  surrounding 
these  oases  have  long  been  the  lurking-places  of  the 
Turkoman  nomads,  a  race  of  wild  and  warlike  horse- 
men, to  whom  plunder  is  as  the  breath  of  life,  and 
who  for  centuries  kept  Persia  in  alarm,  carrying  off 
hosts  of  captives  to  be  sold  as  slaves. 

The  religion  of  Arabia  long  since  made  its  way 
into  this  land,  whose  people  are  fanatical  Moham- 
medans. Its  leading  cities,  Khiva,  Bokhara,  and 
Samarcand,  have  for  many  centuries  been  centres  of 
bigotry.  For  ages  Turkestan  remained  a  land  of 
mystery.  No  European  was  sure  for  a  moment  of  life 
if  he  ventured  to  cross  its  borders.  Yambery,  the 
traveller,  penetrated  it  disguised  as  a  dervish,  after 
years  of  study  of  the  language  and  habits  of  the 
Mohammedans,  yet  he  barely  escaped  with  life.  It 
is  pleasant  to  be  able  to  say  that  this  state  of  affairs 
has  ceased.  Eussia  has  curbed  the  violence  of  the 
fanatics  and  the  nomads,  and  the  once  silent  and 
mysterious  land  is  now  traversed  by  the  iron  horse. 

The  first  step  of  Eussian  invasion  in  this  quarter 
was  made  in  1602.  In  that  year  a  Eussian  force 
captured  the  city  of  Khiva,  but  was  not  able  to  hold 
its  prize.  In  1703,  during  the  reign  of  Peter  the 
Great,  the  Khan  of  Khiva  placed  his  dominions 
under  Eussian  rule,  and  during  the  century  Khiva 
continued  friendly,  but  after  the  opening  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  it  became  bitterly  hostile. 

Meanwhile  Eussia  was  making  its  way  towards  the 
Caspian  and  Aral  seas.     In  1835  a  fort  was  built  on 

20 


306  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

the  eastern  shore  of  the  Caspian  and  several  armed 
steamers  were  placed  on  its  waters.  Four  years  later 
war  broke  out  with  Khiva,  and  the  khan  was  forced 
to  give  up  some  Eussian  prisoners  he  had  seized.  In 
1847  a  fort  was  built  on  the  Sea  of  Aral,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Syr-Daria,  whose  waters  formed  the 
only  safe  avenue  to  the  desert-girdled  khanate  of 
Khokand.  Steamers  were  brought  in  sections  from 
Sweden,  being  carried  with  great  labor  across  the 
desert  to  the  inland  sea,  on  whose  banks  they  were 
put  together  and  launched.  Armed  with  cannon, 
they  quickly  made  their  appearance  on  the  navigable 
waters  of  the  Syr. 

The  Amu-Daria  is  not  navigable,  so  that  the  Syr 
at  that  time  formed  the  only  ready  channel  of  ap- 
proach to  Khokand,  and  from  this  to  the  other  khan- 
ates, none  of  which  could  be  otherwise  reached  with- 
out a  long  and  dangerous  desert  march.  Eussia  thus, 
by  planting  herself  at  the  mouth  of  the  Syr,  had 
gained  the  most  available  position  from  which  to 
begin  a  career  of  conquest  in  Central  Asia. 

War  necessarily  followed  these  steps  of  invasion. 
In  1853  the  Eussians  besieged  and  captured  the  fort 
of  Ak  Mechet,  on  the  Syr,  thought  by  its  holders  to 
be  impregnable.  Up  the  river,  bordered  on  each  side 
by  a  narrow  band  of  vegetation  from  which  a  desert 
spread  away,  the  Eussians  gradually  advanced,  finally 
planting  a  military  post  within  thirty-two  miles  of 
Tashkend,  the  military  key  of  Central  Asia. 

Such  was  the  state  of  affairs  in  1862,  when  war 
arose  between  the  khanates  themselves,  and  the  Emir 
of  Bokhara  invaded  and  conquered  Khokand.     Eus- 


THE  ADVANCE  OF  RUSSIA   IN  ASIA.  307 

sla  looked  on,  awaiting  its  opportunity.  It  came  at 
length  in  an  appeal  from  the  merchants  of  Tashkend 
for  protection.  The  protection  came  in  true  Kus- 
sian  style,  a  Cossack  force  marching  into  and  oc- 
cupying the  town,  which  has  since  then  remained  in 
Eussian  hands.  The  movement  of  invasion  went  on 
until  a  large  portion  of  Khokand  was  seized. 

This  audacious  procedure  of  the  Muscovites,  as  the 
Emir  of  Bokhara  regarded  it,  roused  that  ruler  to  a 
high  pitch  of  fury  and  fanaticism.  He  imprisoned 
Colonel  Struve,  an  eminent  Eussian  astronomer  who 
was  on  a  mission  to  his  capital,  and  declared  a  holy 
war  against  the  invading  infidels. 

The  emir  had  little  fear  of  his  foes,  having  what 
he  considered  two  impassable  lines  of  defence.  Of 
these  the  first  was  the  desert,  which  enclosed  his  land 
as  within  a  wall  of  sand.  The  second,  and  in  his  view 
the  more  impregnable,  was  the  large  number  of  saints 
that  lay  buried  in  Bokharan  soil,  before  whose  graves 
the  infidel  host  would  surely  be  stayed. 

He  probably  soon  lost  faith  in  the  saints,  for  the 
Eussians  quickly  drove  his  troops  out  of  Khokand 
and  then  invaded  Bokhara  itself,  defeating  his  troops 
near  the  venerable  and  famous  city  of  Samarcand, 
of  which  they  immediately  afterwards  took  posses- 
sion. These  infidel  assaults  soon  brought  the  holy 
war  to  an  end,  the  emir  being  forced  to  cede  Samar- 
cand and  three  other  places  to  Eussia,  the  four  being 
so  chosen  as  to  give  the  invaders  full  military  con- 
trol of  the  country. 

This  disaster,  which  fell  upon  Bokhara  in  1868,  was 
repeated  in  Khiva  in  1873.     Bokharan  troops  aided 


308  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

the  Eussians,  and  Bokhara  was  rewarded  with  a  gen- 
erous slice  of  the  conquered  territory.  Khiva  was 
overthrown  as  quickly  as  the  other  oases  had  been, 
and  the  whole  of  Central  Asia  became  Eussian  soil. 
It  is  true  that  a  shadow  of  the  old  government  is 
maintained,  the  khans  of  Bokhara  and  Khiva  still 
occupying  their  thrones.  But  they  are  mere  puppets 
to  move  as  the  Czar  of  Eussia  pulls  the  strings.  As 
for  Khokand,  it  has  disappeared  from  the  map  of 
Asia,  being  replaced  by  the  Eussian  province  of  Fer- 
ghana. 

"We  have  thus  in  few  words  told  a  long  and  vital 
story,  that  of  the  steps  by  which  Eussia  gained  its 
strong  foothold  in  Asia,  and  extended  its  boundaries 
from  the  Ural  Mountains  and  Caspian  Sea  to  the 
Pacific  Ocean  and  the  boundaries  of  China,  Persia, 
and  India,  all  of  which  may  yet  become  part  of  the 
vast  Eussian  empire,  if  what  some  consider  the  secret 
purpose  of  Eussia  be  carried  out. 

Asia  has  been  won  by  the  sword ;  it  is  being  held 
by  other  influences.  Schools  have  been  founded 
among  the  Kirghis,  and  a  newspaper  is  printed  in 
their  language.  Their  plundering  habits  have  been 
suppressed,  agriculture  is  encouraged,  and  luxuries 
are  being  introduced  into  the  steppes,  with  the  result 
of  changing  the  ideas  and  habits  of  the  nomads. 
Thriving  Cossack  colonies  have  grown  up  on  the 
plains,  and  the  wandering  barbarians  behold  with 
wonder  the  ways  and  means  of  civilization  in  their 
midst. 

The  same  may  be  said  of  Turkestan,  in  which 
violence  has  been  suppressed  and  industry  encour- 


THE  ADVANCE   OF   RUSSIA   IN  ASIA.  309 

aged,  while  the  Eussian  population,  alike  of  the 
steppes  and  of  the  oases,  is  rapidly  increasing.  A 
railroad  penetrates  the  formerly  mysterious  land, 
trains  roll  daily  over  its  soil,  carrying  great  num- 
bers of  Asiatic  passengers,  and  an  undreamed-of 
activity  of  commerce  has  taken  the  place  of  the  old- 
time  plundering  raids  of  the  half-savage  Turkoman 
horsemen. 

The  Eussian  is  thoroughly  adapted  to  deal  v^ith 
the  Asiatic.  Half  an  Asiatic  himself,  in  spite  of  his 
fair  complexion,  he  knows  how  to  baffle  the  arts  and 
overcome  the  prejudices  of  his  new  subjects.  The 
Eussian  diplomatist  has  all  the  softness  and  suavity 
of  his  Asiatic  congeners.  He  conforms  to  their  cus- 
toms and  allows  them  to  delay  and  prevaricate  to 
their  hearts'  content.  He  is  an  adept  in  the  art  of 
bribery,  has  emissaries  everywhere,  and  is  much  too 
deeply  imbued  with  this  Asiatic  spirit  for  the  blunt- 
ness  of  European  methods.  "  You  must  beat  about 
the  bush  with  a  Eussian,"  we  are  told.  "  You  must 
flatter  them  and  humbug  them.  You  must  talk 
about  everything  but  the  thing.  If  you  want  to 
buy  a  horse  you  must  pretend  you  want  to  sell  a 
cow,  and  so  work  gradually  round  to  the  point  in 
view." 

Thus  the  shrewd  Eussian  has  gained  point  after 
point  from  his  Oriental  neighbors,  and  has  succeeded 
in  annexing  a  vast  territory  while  keeping  on  the 
friendliest  of  terms  with  his  new  subjects.  He  has 
respected  their  prejudices,  left  their  religions  un- 
touched, dealt  with  them  in  their  own  ways,  and 
is  rapidly  planting  the  Muscovite  type  of  civiliza- 


310  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

tion  where  Asiatic  barbarism  had  for  untold  ages 
prevailed. 

1^0  man  can  predict  the  final  result  of  these  move- 
ments. Asia  has  been  in  all  ages  the  field  of  great 
invasions  and  of  the  sudden  building  up  of  immense 
empires.  But  the  movements  of  the  Muscovite  con- 
querors have  none  of  the  torrent  rush  of  those 
great  invasions  of  the  past.  The  Russian  advances 
with  extreme  caution,  takes  no  risks,  and  makes 
sure  of  his  game  before  he  shows  his  hand.  He 
prepares  the  ground  in  front  before  taking  a  step 
forward,  and  all  that  he  leaves  in  his  rear  falls  into 
the  strong  folds  of  the  imperial  net.  Gold  and  diplo- 
macy are  his  weapons  equally  with  the  sword,  and 
in  the  progress  of  his  arms  we  seem  to  see  Europe 
marching  into  Asia  with  a  solid  and  unyielding 
front. 


THE  RAILROAD  IN  TURKESTAN, 

On  the  24th  of  January,  1881,  Edward  O'Don- 
ovan,  a  daring  traveller  who  had  journeyed  far 
through  the  wastes  and  wilds  of  Turkestan,  found 
himself  on  a  mountain  summit  not  far  removed 
from  the  northern  boundary  of  Persia,  from  which 
his  startled  eyes  beheld  a  spectacle  of  fearful  im- 
port. Below  him  the  desert  stretched  in  a  broad 
level  far  away  to  the  distant  horizon.  ]N"ear  the 
foot  of  the  range  rose  a  great  fortress,  within  which 
at  that  moment  a  frightful  struggle  was  taking 
place.  Bringing  his  field-glass  to  bear  upon  the 
scene,  the  traveller  saw  a  host  of  terror-stricken 
fugitives  streaming  across  the  plain,  and  hot  upon 
their  steps  a  throng  of  merciless  pursuers,  who 
slaughtered  them  in  multitudes  as  they  fled.  Even 
from  where  he  stood  the  white  face  of  the  desert 
seemed  changing  to  a  crimson  hue. 

What  the  astounded  traveller  beheld  was  the 
death-struggle  of  the  desert  Turkomans,  the  hand  of 
retribution  smiting  those  savage  brigands  who  for 
centuries  had  carried  death  and  misery  wherever 
they  rode.  These  were  the  Tekke  Turkomans,  the 
tribes  who  haunted  the  Persian  frontier,  and  whose 
annual  raids  swept  hundreds  of  captives  from  that 
peaceful  land  to  spend  the  remainder  of  their  days 
in  the  most  woful  form  of  slavery.     For  a  month 

311 


312  HISTORICAL  TALES. 

previous  General  Skqbeleff,  the  most  daring  and 
merciless  of  the  Eussian  leaders,  had  besieged  them 
in  their  great  fort  of  Geop  Tepe,  an  earthwork 
nearly  three  miles  in  circuit,  and  containing  within 
its  ample  walls  a  desert  nation,  more  than  forty 
thousand  in  all,  men,  women,  and  children. 

On  that  day,  fatal  to  the  Turkoman  power,  Sko- 
beleff  had  taken  the  fort  by  storm,  dealing  death 
wherever  he  moved,  until  not  a  man  was  left  alive 
within  its  walls  except  some  hundreds  of  fettered 
Persian  slaves.  Through  its  gateways  a  trembling 
multitude  had  fled,  and  upon  these  miserable  fugi- 
tives the  Eussian  had  let  loose  his  soldiers,  horse, 
foot,  and  artillery,  with  the  savage  order  to  hunt 
them  to  the  death  and  give  no  quarter. 

Only  too  well  was  the  brutal  order  obeyed.  'Not 
men  alone,  but  women  and  children  as  well,  fell  vic- 
tims to  the  sword,  and  only  when  night  put  an  end 
to  the  pursuit  did  that  terrible  massacre  cease.  By 
that  time  eight  thousand  persons,  of  both  sexes  and 
all  ages,  lay  stretched  in  death  upon  the  plain. 
Within  the  fort  thousands  more  had  fallen,  the 
women  and  children  here  being  spared.  SkobeleflTs 
report  said  that  twenty  thousand  in  all  had  been 
slain. 

Such  was  the  frightful  scene  which  lay  before 
O'Donovan's  eyes  when  he  reached  the  mountain 
top,  on  his  way  to  the  Eussian  camp,  a  spectacle 
of  horrible  carnage  which  only  a  man  of  the  most 
savage  instincts  could  have  ordered.  "  Bloody  Eyes" 
the  Turkomans  named  Skobeleff,  and  the  title  fairly 
indicated  his   ruthless  lust  for  blood.     It  was  his 


THE   RAILROAD   IN   TURKESTAN.  313 

theory  of  war  to  strike  hard  when  he  struck  at  all, 
and  to  make  each  battle  a  lesson  that  would  not  soon 
be  forgotten.  The  Turkoman  nomads  have  been 
taught  their  lesson  well.  They  have  given  no  trouble 
since  that  day  of  slaughter  and  revenge. 

Such  was  one  of  the  weapons  with  which  the  Eus- 
sians  conquered  the  desert, — the  sword.  It  was  suc- 
ceeded by  another, — the  iron  rail.  It  is  now  some 
twenty  years  since  the  idea  of  a  railroad  from  the 
Caspian  Sea  eastward  was  first  advanced.  In  1880 
a  narrow-gauge  road  was  begun  to  aid  Skobeleff,  but 
that  daring  and  impetuous  chief  had  made  his  march 
and  finished  his  work  before  the  rails  had  crept  far 
on  their  way.  Soon  it  was  determined  to  change  the 
narrow-gauge  for  a  broad-gauge  road,  and  General 
Annenkoff,  a  skilful  engineer,  was  placed  in  charge 
in  1885,  with  orders  to  push  it  forward  with  all 
speed. 

It  was  a  new  and  bold  project  which  the  Eussians 
had  in  view.  Never  before  had  a  railroad  been  built 
across  so  bleak  a  plain,  a  treeless  and  waterless  ex- 
panse, stretching  for  hundreds  of  miles  in  a  dead 
level,  over  which  the  winds  drove  at  will  the  shifting 
sands,  constantly  threatening  to  bury  any  work  which 
man  ventured  to  lay  upon  the  desert's  broad  breast. 
West  of  Bokhara  and  south  of  Khiva  stretched  the 
great  desert  of  Kara-Kum,  touching  the  Caspian  Sea 
on  the  west,  the  Amu-Daria  Eiver  on  the  east,  the 
home  of  the  wandering  Turkomans,  the  born  foes  of 
the  settled  races,  but  from  whom  all  thought  of  dis- 
puting the  Eussian  rule  had  for  the  time  been  driven 
by  Skobeleff' s  death-dealing  blade. 


314  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

The  total  length  of  the  road  thus  ordered  to  be 
built — extending  from  the  shores  of  the  Caspian 
Sea,  the  outpost  of  European  Russia,  to  the  far-away 
city  of  Samarcand,  the  ancient  capital  of  Timur  the 
Tartar,  and  the  very  stronghold  of  Asiatic  barbar- 
ism— was  little  short  of  a  thousand  miles,  of  which 
several  hundred  were  bleak  and  barren  desert.  Two 
immense  steppes,  waterless,  and  scorching  hot  in  sum- 
mer, lay  on  the  route,  while  it  traversed  the  oases  of 
Kizil-Arvat,  Merv,  Charjui,  and  Bokhara.  In  the 
northern  section  of  the  last  lay  the  famous  city  of 
Samarcand,  the  eastern  terminus  of  the  road.  The 
western  terminus  was  at  Usun-ada,  on  the  Caspian, 
and  opposite  the  petroleum  region  of  Baku,  perhaps 
the  richest  oil-yielding  district  in  the  world. 

General  Annenkoff  had  special  difficulties  to  over- 
come in  the  building  of  this  road,  of  a  kind  never 
met  with  by  railroad  engineers  before.  Chief  among 
these  were  the  lack  of  water  and  the  instability  of 
the  roadway,  the  wind  at  times  manifesting  an  awk- 
ward disposition  to  blow  out  the  foundation  from 
under  the  ties,  at  other  times  to  bury  the  whole  road 
under  acres  of  flying  sand. 

These  difficulties  were  got  rid  of  in  various  ways. 
Fresh  water,  made  by  boiling  the  salt  water  of  the 
Caspian  and  condensing  the  steam,  was  carried  in 
vats  or  tuns  over  the  road  to  the  working  parties. 
At  a  later  date  water  was  conveyed  in  pipes  from 
the  mountains  to  fill  cisterns  at  the  stations,  whence 
it  was  carried  in  canals  or  underground  conduits 
along  the  line,  every  well  and  spring  on  the  route 
being  utilized. 


THE   RAILROAD   IN   TURKESTAN.  315 

To  overcome  the  shifting  of  the  sand,  near  the 
Caspian  it  was  thoroughly  soaked  with  salt  water, 
and  at  other  places  was  covered  with  a  layer  of  clay. 
But  there  are  long  distances  where  no  such  means 
could  be  employed,  at  least  two  hundred  miles  of 
utter  wilderness,  where  the  surface  resembles  a  bil- 
lowy sea,  the  sand  being  raised  in  loose  hillocks  and 
swept  from  the  troughs  between,  flying  in  such 
clouds  before  every  wind  that  an  incessant  battle 
with  nature  is  necessary  to  keep  the  road  from 
burial.  To  prevent  this,  tamarisk,  wild  oats,  and 
desert  shrubs  are  planted  along  the  line,  and  in 
particular  that  strange  plant  of  the  wilderness,  the 
saxaoul,  whose  branches  are  scraggly  and  scant,  but 
whose  sturdy  roots  sink  deep  into  the  sand,  seeking 
moisture  in  the  depths.  Fascines  of  the  branches 
of  this  plant  were  laid  along  the  track  and  covered 
with  sand,  and  in  places  palisades  were  built,  of 
which  only  the  tops  are  now  visible. 

Yet  despite  all  these  efforts  the  sands  creep  in- 
sidiously on,  and  in  certain  localities  workmen  have 
to  be  kept  employed,  shovelling  it  back  as  it  comes, 
and  fighting  without  cessation  against  the  forces  of 
the  desert  and  the  winds.  In  the  building  of  the 
road,  and  in  this  battling  with  the  sands,  Turkomans 
have  been  largely  employed,  having  given  up  brig- 
andage for  honest  labor,  in  which  they  have  proved 
the  most  efficient  of  the  various  workmen  engaged 
upon  the  road. 

Aside  from  the  peculiar  difficulties  above  outlined, 
the  Transcaspian  Eailway  was  remarkably  favored 
by  nature.     For  nearly  the  whole  distance  the  coun- 


316  HISTORICAL  TALES. 

try  is  as  flat  as  a  billiard-table,  and  the  road  so 
straight  that  at  times  it  runs  for  twenty  or  thirty 
miles  without  the  shadow  of  a  curve.  In  the  entire 
distance  there  is  not  a  tunnel,  and  only  some  small 
cuttings  have  been  made  through  hills  of  sand.  Of 
bridges,  other  than  mere  culverts,  there  are  but  three 
in  the  whole  length  of  the  road,  the  only  large  one 
being  that  over  the  Amu-Daria.  This  is  a  hastily 
built,  rickety  affair  of  timber,  put  up  only  as  a  make- 
shift, and  at  the  mercy  of  the  stream  if  a  serious 
rise  should  take  place. 

The  whole  road,  indeed,  was  hastily  made,  with  a 
single  track,  the  rails  simply  spiked  down,  and  the 
work  done  at  the  rate  of  from  a  mile  to  a  mile  and 
a  half  a  day.  Before  the  Bokharans  fairly  realized 
what  was  afoot,  the  iron  horse  was  careering  over 
their  level  plains,  and  the  shrill  scream  of  the  loco- 
motive whistle  was  startling  the  saints  in  their 
graves. 

Over  such  a  road  no  great  speed  can  be  attained. 
Thirty  miles  an  hour  is  the  maximum,  and  from  ten 
to  twenty  miles  the  average  speed,  while  the  stops  at 
stations  are  exasperatingly  long  to  travellers  from 
the  impatient  West.  To  the  Asiatics  they  are  of  no 
concern,  time  being  with  them  not  worth  a  moment's 
thought. 

In  the  operation  of  this  road  petroleum  waste  is 
used  as  fuel,  the  refining  works  at  Baku  yielding  an 
inexhaustible  supply.  The  carriages  are  of  mixed 
classes,  some  being  two  stories  in  height,  each  story 
of  different  class.  There  are  very  few  first-class 
carriages  on  the  road.     As  for  the  stations,  some  of 


THE   RAILROAD   IN  TURKESTAN.  317 

them  are  miles  from  the  road,  that  of  Bokhara  being 
ten  miles  away.  This  method  was  adopted  to  avoid 
exciting  the  prejudices  of  the  Asiatics,  who  at  first 
were  not  in  favor  of  the  road,  regarding  it  as  a  de- 
vice of  Shaitan,  the  spirit  of  evil.  Yet  the  "fire- 
cart,"  as  they  call  it,  is  proving  very  convenient,  and 
they  have  no  objection  to  let  this  fiery  Satan  haul 
their  grain  and  cotton  to  market  and  carry  them- 
selves across  the  waterless  plains.  The  camel  is 
being  thrown  out  of  business  by  this  shrill-voiced 
prince  of  evil.  The  road  is  being  extended  over  the 
oases,  and  will  in  the  end  bring  all  Turkestan  under 
its  control. 

It  almost  takes  away  one's  breath  to  think  of  rail- 
way stations  and  time-tables  in  connection  with  the 
old-time  abiding-place  of  the  terrible  Tartar,  and  of 
the  iron  horse  careering  across  the  empire  of  bar- 
barism, rushing  into  the  metropolis  of  superstition, 
and  waking  with  the  scream  of  the  steam  whistle  the 
silent  centuries  of  the  Orient.  Nothing  of  greater 
promise  than  this  planting  of  the  railroad  in  Central 
Asia  has  been  performed  of  recent  years.  The  son 
of  the  desert  is  to  be  civilized  despite  himself,  and 
to  be  taught  the  arts  and  ideas  of  the  West  by  the 
irresistible  logic  of  steel  and  steam. 

But  this  enterprise  is  a  minor  one  compared  with 
that  on  which  Eussia  is  now  engaged.  A  railway  is 
being  built  across  the  whole  width  of  Siberia,  to  be, 
when  finished,  with  its  branches,  five  thousand  miles 
long, — much  the  longest  railway  in  the  world.  This 
was  begun  in  1890,  and  is  now  far  on  its  way.  Al- 
ready long  distances  in  this  land  of  frost  can  be 


318  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

traversed  by  rail,  and  in  the  early  years  of  the  twen- 
tieth century  a  traveller  will  be  able  to  ride  from 
St.  Petersburg  to  the  Pacific's  shores  without  change 
of  cars. 

All  this  is  of  the  deepest  significance.  The  rail- 
road in  Asia  has  come  to  stay;  and  with  its  coming 
the  barbarism  of  the  past  is  nearing  its  end.  The 
sleeping  giant  of  Orientalism  is  stirring  uneasily  in 
its  bed,  its  drowsy  senses  stirred  by  the  shrill  alarum 
of  the  locomotive  whistle.  New  ideas  and  new 
habits  must  follow  in  the  track  of  the  iron  horse. 
The  West  is  forcing  itself  into  the  East,  with  all  its 
restless  activity.  In  the  time  to  come  this  whole 
broad  continent  is  destined  to  be  covered  with  rail- 
roads as  with  a  vast  spider-web ;  new  industries  will 
be  established,  machinery  introduced,  and  the  great 
region  of  the  steppes,  famous  in  the  past  only  as  the 
starting-point  of  conquering  migrations,  must  in  the 
end  become  an  active  centre  of  industry,  the  home 
of  peace  and  prosperity,  a  new-found  abiding-place 
of  civilization  and  human  progress. 


AN  ESCAPE  FROM  THE  MINES 
OF  SIBERIA, 

The  name  Siberia  calls  up  to  our  minds  the  vision 
of  a  stupendous  prison,  a  vast  open  penitentiary 
larger  than  the  whole  United  States,  a  continental 
place  of  captivity  which  for  three  centuries  past  has 
been  the  seat  of  more  wretchedness  and  misery  than 
any  other  land  inhabited  by  the  human  race.  To 
that  far,  frozen  land  a  stream  of  the  best  and  worst 
of  the  people  of  Eussia  has  steadily  flowed,  including 
prisoners  of  state,  religious  dissenters,  rebels,  Polish 
patriots,  convicts,  vagabonds,  and  all  others  who  in 
any  way  gave  offence  to  the  authorities  or  stood  in 
the  way  of  persons  in  power. 

Not  freedom  of  action  alone,  but  even  freedom 
of  thought,  is  a  crime  in  Eussia.  It  is  a  land  of 
innumerable  spies,  of  secret  arrest  and  rapid  con- 
demnation, in  which  the  captive  may  find  himself 
on  the  road  to  Siberia  without  knowing  with  what 
crime  he  is  charged,  while  his  friends,  even  his  wife 
and  family,  may  remain  in  ignorance  of  his  fate. 
Every  year  a  convoy  of  some  twenty  thousand 
wretched  prisoners  is  sent  off  to  that  dismal  land, 
including  the  ignorant  and  the  educated,  the  de- 
based and  the  refined,  men  and  women,  young  and 
old,  the  horror  of  exile  being  added  to  indescribably 
by  this  mingling  of  delicate  and  refined  men  and 

319 


320  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

women  with  the  rudest  and  most  brutal  of  the  con- 
vict class,  all  under  the  charge  of  mounted  Cossacks, 
well  armed,  and  bearing  long  whips  as  their  most 
effective  arguments  of  control. 

It  may  be  said  here  that  the  misery  of  this  long 
journey  on  foot  has  been  somewhat  mitigated  since 
the  introduction  of  railroads  and  steamboats,  and 
will  very  likely  be  done  away  with  when  the  Trans- 
siberian  Eailway  is  finished ;  but  for  centuries  the 
horrors  of  the  convict  train  have  piteously  appealed 
to  the  charity  of  the  world,  while  the  sufferings  and 
brutalities  which  the  exiles  have  had  to  endure  stand 
almost  without  parallel  in  the  story  of  convict  life. 

The  exiles  are  divided  into  two  classes,  those  who 
lose  all  and  those  who  lose  part  of  their  rights.  Of 
a  convict  of  the  former  class  neither  the  word  nor 
the  bond  has  any  value :  his  wife  is  released  from 
all  duty  to  him,  he  cannot  possess  any  property  or 
hold  any  office.  In  prison  he  wears  convict  clothes, 
has  his  head  half  shaved,  and  may  be  cruelly  flogged 
at  the  will  of  the  officials,  or  murdered  almost  with 
impunity.  Those  deprived  of  partial  rights  are  usu- 
ally sent  to  Western  Siberia ;  those  deprived  of  total 
rights  are  sent  to  Eastern  Siberia,  where  their  life, 
as  workers  in  the  mines,  is  so  miserable  and  monot- 
onous that  death  is  far  more  of  a  relief  than  some- 
thing to  be  feared. 

Many  of  the  exiles  escape, — some  from  the  dis- 
tricts where  they  live  free,  with  privilege  of  getting 
a  living  in  any  manner  available,  others  from  the 
prisons  or  mines.  The  mere  feat  of  running  away 
is  in  many  cases  not  difficult,  but  to  get  out  of  the 


AN   ESCAPE  FROM   THE   MINES   OP   SIBERIA.       321 

country  is  a  very  different  matter.  The  officers  do 
not  make  any  serious  efforts  to  prevent  escapes,  and 
can  be  easily  bribed  to  allow  them,  since  they  are 
enabled  then  to  turn  in  the  name  of  the  prisoner  as 
still  on  hand  and  charge  the  government  for  his 
support.  In  the  gold-mines  the  convicts  work  in 
gangs,  and  here  one  will  lie  in  a  ditch  and  be  cov- 
ered with  rubbish  by  his  comrades.  When  his  ab- 
sence is  discovered  he  is  not  to  be  found,  and  at 
nightfall  he  slips  from  the  trench  and  makes  for  the 
forest. 

To  spend  the  summer  in  the  woods  is  the  joy  of 
many  convicts.  They  have  no  hope  of  getting  out 
of  the  country,  which  is  of  such  vast  extent  that 
winter  is  sure  to  descend  upon  them  before  they  can 
approach  the  border,  but  the  freedom  of  life  in  the 
woods  has  for  them  an  undefinable  charm.  Then  as 
the  frigid  season  approaches  they  permit  themselves 
to  be  caught,  and  go  back  to  their  labor  or  confine- 
ment with  hearts  lightened  by  the  enjoyment  of 
their  vagrant  summer  wanderings.  There  is  in  some 
cases  another  advantage  to  be  gained.  A  twenty 
years'  convict  who  has  escaped  and  lets  himself  be 
caught  again  may  give  a  false  name,  and  avoid  all 
incriminating  answers  through  a  convenient  failure 
of  memory.  If  not  detected,  he  may  in  this  way 
get  off  with  a  five  years'  sentence  as  a  vagrant.  But 
if  detected  his  last  lot  is  worse  than  his  first,  since 
the  time  he  has  already  served  goes  for  nothing. 

There  is  another  peril  to  which  escaping  prisoners 
are  exposed.  The  native  tribes  are  apt  to  look 
upon  them  as  game  and  shoot  them  down  at  sight. 


322  HISTORICAL  TALES. 

It  is  said  that  they  receive  three  roubles  for  each 
convict  they  bring  to  the  police,  dead  or  alive.  "  If 
you  shoot  a  squirrel,"  they  say,  "you  get  only  his 
skin ;  but  if  you  shoot  a  varnak  [convict]  you  get 
his  skin  and  his  clothing  too." 

Atkinson,  the  Siberian  traveller,  tells  a  remarkable 
story  of  an  escape  of  prisoners,  which  may  be  given 
in  illustration  of  the  above  remarks.  One  night  in 
September,  1850,  the  people  of  Barnaoul,  a  town  in 
Western  Siberia,  were  roused  from  their  slumbers 
by  the  clatter  of  a  party  of  mounted  Cossacks  gal- 
loping up  the  quiet  street.  The  story  they  brought 
was  an  alarming  one.  Siberia  had  been  invaded  by 
three  thousand  Tartars  of  the  desert,  who  were 
marching  towards  the  town.  Nearly  all  the  gold 
from  the  Siberian  gold-mines  lay  in  Barnaoul,  wait- 
ing to  be  smelted  into  bars  and  sent  to  St.  Peters- 
burg. There  was  much  silver  also,  with  abundance 
of  other  valuable  government  stores.  All  this  would 
form  a  rich  booty  for  an  army  of  nomad  plunderers, 
could  they  obtain  it,  and  the  news  filled  the  town 
with  excitement  and  alarm. 

As  the  night  passed  and  the  day  came  on,  other 
Cossacks  arrived  with  still  more  alarming  news. 
The  three  thousand  had  grown  to  seven  thousand, 
many  of  them  armed  with  rifles,  who  were  burning 
the  Kalmuck  villages  as  they  advanced,  and  mur- 
dering every  man,  woman,  and  child  who  fell  into 
their  hands.  Some  thought  that  the  wild  hordes  of 
Asia  were  breaking  loose  again,  as  in  the  time  of 
Genghis  Khan,  and  the  terror  of  many  of  the  people 
grew  intense. 


AN  ESCAPE   PROM  THE  MINES   OP  SIBERIA.       323 

By  noon  the  enemy  had  increased  to  ten  thousand, 
and  the  people  everywhere  were  flying  before  their 
advance.  Hasty  steps  were  taken  for  defence  and 
for  the  safety  of  the  gold  and  silver,  while  orders 
were  despatched  in  all  directions  to  gather  a  force 
to  meet  them  on  their  way.  But  as  the  days  passed 
on  the  alarm  began  to  subside.  The  number  of  the 
invaders  declined  almost  as  rapidly  as  it  had  grown. 
They  were  not  advancing  upon  the  town.  No  army 
was  needed  to  oppose  them,  and  Cossacks  were  sent 
to  stop  the  march  of  the  troops.  In  the  course  of 
two  days  more  the  truth  was  sifted  from  the  mass 
of  wild  rumors  and  reports.  The  ten  thousand  in- 
vaders dwindled  to  forty  Circassian  prisoners  who 
had  escaped  from  the  gold-mines  on  the  Birioussa. 

These  fugitives  had  not  a  thought  of  invading 
the  Eussian  dominions.  They  were  prisoners  of  war 
who,  with  heartless  cruelty,  had  been  condemned  to 
the  mines  of  Siberia  for  the  crime  of  a  patriotic 
effort  to  save  their  country,  and  their  sole  purpose 
was  to  return  to  their  far-distant  homes. 

By  the  aid  of  small  quantities  of  gold,  which  they 
had  managed  to  hide  from  their  guards,  they  suc- 
ceeded in  purchasing  a  sufficient  supply  of  rifles 
and  ammunition  from  the  neighboring  tribesmen, 
which  they  hid  in  a  mountain  cavern  about  seven 
miles  away.  There  was  no  fear  of  the  Tartars  be- 
traying them,  as  they  had  received  for  the  arms  ten 
times  their  value,  and  would  have  been  severely 
punished  if  found  with  gold  in  their  possession. 

On  a  Saturday  afternoon  near  the  end  of  July, 
1850,  after  completing  the  day's  labors,  the  Circas- 


324  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

sians  left  the  mine  in  small  parties,  going  in  different 
directions.  This  excited  no  suspicion,  as  they  were 
free  to  hunt  or  otherwise  amuse  themselves  after 
their  work.  They  gradually  came  together  in  a 
mountain  ravine  about  six  miles  south  of  the  mines. 
Not  far  from  this  locality  a  stud  of  spare  horses 
were  kept  at  pasture,  and  hither  some  of  the  fugi- 
tives made  their  way,  reaching  the  spot  just  as  the 
animals  were  being  driven  into  the  enclosure  for 
the  night.  The  three  horse-keepers  suddenly  found 
themselves  covered  with  rifles  and  forced  to  yield 
themselves  prisoners,  while  their  captors  began  to 
select  the  best  horses  from  the  herd. 

The  Circassians  deemed  it  necessary  to  take  the 
herdsmen  with  them  to  prevent  them  from  giving  the 
alarm.  Two  of  these  also  were  skilful  hunters  and 
well  acquainted  with  the  surrounding  mountain 
regions,  and  were  likely  to  prove  useful  as  guides. 
In  all  fifty-five  horses  were  chosen,  out  of  the  three 
or  four  hundred  in  the  herd.  The  remainder  were 
turned  out  of  the  enclosure  and  driven  into  the 
forest,  as  if  they  had  broken  loose  and  their  keepers 
were  absent  in  search  of  them.  This  done,  the 
captors  sought  their  friends  in  the  glen,  by  whom 
they  were  received  with  cheers,  and  before  midnight, 
the  moon  having  risen,  the  fugitives  began  their 
long  and  dangerous  journey. 

Sunrise  found  them  on  a  high  summit,  which  com- 
manded a  view  of  the  gold-mine  they  had  left,  marked 
by  the  curling  smoke  which  rose  from  fires  kept 
constantly  alive  to  drive  away  the  mosquitoes,  the 
pests  of  the  region.    Taking  a  last  look  at  their  place 


AN   ESCAPE   FROM   THE   MINES   OF   SIBERIA.       325 

of  exile,  they  moved  on  into  a  grassy  valley,  where 
they  breakfasted  and  fed  their  horses.  On  they 
went,  keeping  a  sharp  watch  upon  their  guides,  day 
by  day,  until  the  evening  of  the  fourth  day  found 
them  past  the  crest  of  the  range  and  descending  into 
a  narrow  valley,  where  they  decided  to  spend  the 
night. 

Thus  far  all  had  gone  well.  They  were  now  be- 
yond the  Eussian  frontier  and  in  Chinese  territory, 
and  as  their  guides  knew  the  country  no  farther, 
they  were  set  free  and  their  rifles  restored  to  them. 
Yenison  had  been  obtained  plentifully  on  the  march, 
and  fugitives  and  captives  alike  passed  the  evening 
in  feasting  and  enjoyment.  With  daybreak  the  Si- 
berians left  to  return  to  the  mine  and  the  Circassians 
resumed  their  route. 

From  this  time  onward  difficulties  confronted 
them.  They  were  in  a  region  of  mountains,  preci- 
pices, ravines,  and  torrents.  One  dangerous  river 
they  swam,  but,  instead  of  keeping  on  due  south,  the 
difficulties  of  the  way  induced  them  to  change  their 
course  to  the  west,  alarmed,  probably,  by  the  vast 
snowy  peaks  of  the  Tangnou  Mountains  in  the  dis- 
tance, though  if  they  had  passed  these  all  danger 
from  Siberia  would  have  been  at  an  end.  As  it  was, 
after  more  than  three  weeks  of  wandering,  the  nature 
of  the  country  forced  them  towards  the  northwest, 
until  they  came  upon  the  eastern  shore  of  the  Altin- 
Kool  Lake, 

Here  was  their  final  chance.  Had  they  followed 
the  lake  southerly  they  might  still  have  reached  a 
place  of  safety.     But  ill  fortune  brought  them  upon 


326  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

it  at  a  point  where  it  seemed  easiest  to  round  it  on 
the  north,  and  they  passed  on,  hoping  soon  to  reach 
its  western  shores.  But  the  Bea,  the  impassable 
torrent  that  flows  from  the  lake,  forced  them  again 
many  miles  northward  in  search  of  a  ford,  and  into 
a  locality  from  which  their  chance  of  escape  was 
greatly  reduced. 

More  than  two  months  had  passed  since  they  left 
the  mines,  and  the  poor  wanderers  were  still  in  the 
vast  Siberian  prison,  from  which,  if  they  had  known 
the  country,  they  might  now  have  been  far  away. 
The  region  they  had  reached  was  thinly  inhabited  by 
Kalmuck  Tartars,  and  they  finally  entered  a  village 
of  this  people,  with  whose  inhabitants  they  unluckily 
got  into  a  broil,  ending  in  a  battle,  in  which  several 
Kalmucks  were  killed  and  the  village  burned. 

To  this  event  was  due  the  terrifying  news  that 
reached  Barnaoul,  the  alarm  being  carried  to  a  Cos- 
sack fort  whose  commandant  was  drunk  at  the  time 
and  sent  out  a  series  of  exaggerated  reports.  As 
for  the  fugitives,  they  had  in  effect  signed  tbeir 
death-warrant  by  their  conflict  with  the  Kalmucks. 
The  news  spread  from  tribe  to  tribe,  and  when  the 
real  number  of  the  fugitives  was  learned  the  tribes- 
men entered  savagely  into  pursuit,  determined  to 
obtain  revenge  for  their  slain  kinsmen.  The  Circas- 
sians were  wandering  in  an  unknown  country.  The 
Kalmucks  knew  every  inch  of  the  ground.  Scouts 
followed  the  fugitives,  and  after  them  came  well- 
mounted  hunters,  who  rapidly  closed  upon  the  trail, 
being  on  the  evening  of  the  third  day  but  three 
miles  away. 


AN   ESCAPE   FROM   THE   MINES   OF   SIBERIA.       327 

The  Circassians  had  crossed  the  Bea  and  turned 
to  the  south,  but  here  they  found  themselves  in  an 
almost  impassable  group  of  snow-clad  mountains. 
On  they  pushed,  deeper  and  deeper  into  the  chain, 
still  closely  pursued,  the  Kalmucks  so  managing  the 
pursuit  as  to  drive  them  into  a  pathless  region  of 
the  hills.  This  accomplished,  they  came  on  leisurely, 
knowing  that  they  had  their  prey  safe. 

At  length  the  hungry  and  weary  warriors  were 
driven  into  a  mountain  pass,  where  the  pursuers, 
who  had  hitherto  saved  their  bullets,  began  a  savage 
attack,  rifle-balls  dropping  fast  into  the  glen.  The 
fugitives  sought  shelter  behind  some  fallen  rocks, 
and  returned  the  fire  with  eflfect.  But  they  were  at 
a  serious  disadvantage,  the  hunters,  who  far  out- 
numbered them,  and  knew  every  crag  in  the  ravines, 
picking  them  off  in  safety  from  behind  places  of 
shelter.  From  point  to  point  the  Circassians  fell 
back,  defending  their  successive  stations  desperately, 
answering  every  call  to  surrender  with  shouts  of 
defiance,  and  holding  each  spot  until  the  fall  of 
their  comrades  warned  them  that  the  place  was  no 
longer  tenable. 

Night  fell  during  the  struggle,  and  under  its  cover 
the  remaining  fifteen  of  the  brave  fugitives  made 
their  way  on  foot  deeper  into  the  mountains,  aban- 
doning their  horses  to  the  merciless  foe.  At  day- 
break they  resumed  their  march,  scaling  the  rocky 
heights  in  front.  Here,  scanning  the  country  in 
search  of  their  pursuers,  not  one  of  whom  was  to  be 
seen,  they  turned  to  the  west,  a  range  of  snow-clad 
peaks  closing  the  way  in  front.    A  forest  of  cedars 


328  HISTORICAL   TALES. 

before  them  seemed  to  present  their  only  chance  of 
escape,  and  they  hurried  towards  it,  but  when  within 
two  hundred  yards  of  the  wood  a  puff  of  white 
smoke  rose  from  a  thicket,  and  one  of  the  fugitives 
fell.  The  hunters  had  ambushed  them  on  this  spot, 
and  as  they  rushed  for  the  shelter  of  some  rocks  near 
by  five  more  fell  before  the  bullets  of  their  foes. 

The  fire  was  returned  with  some  eifect,  and  then 
a  last  desperate  rush  was  made  for  the  forest  shelter. 
Only  four  of  the  poor  fellows  reached  it,  and  of  these 
some  were  wounded.  The  thick  underwood  now 
screened  them  from  the  volley  that  whistled  after 
them,  and  they  were  soon  safe  from  the  effects  of 
rifle-shots  in  the  tangled  forest  depths. 

Meanwhile  the  clouds  had  been  gathering  black 
and  dense,  and  soon  rain  and  sleet  began  to  fall,  ac- 
companied by  a  fierce  gale.  Two  small  parties  of 
Kalmucks  were  sent  in  pursuit,  while  the  others 
began  to  prepare  an  encampment  under  the  cedars. 
The  storm  rapidly  grew  into  a  hurricane,  snow  fall- 
ing thick  and  whirling  into  eddies,  while  the  pur- 
suers were  soon  forced  to  return  without  having 
seen  the  small  remnant  of  the  gallant  band.  For 
three  days  the  storm  continued,  and  then  was  fol- 
lowed by  a  sharp  frost.     The  winter  had  set  in. 

No  further  pursuit  was  attempted.  It  was  not 
needed.  Nothing  more  was  ever  seen  of  the  four 
Circassians,  nor  any  trace  of  them  found.  They  un- 
doubtedly found  their  last  resting-place  under  the 
snows  of  that  mountain  storm. 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 
LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  ot 
on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 

Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


□BRARY  use 


Mfl^i^jaSk) 


— REC'D  to 


MAY1JJ96] 


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LD  2lA-50m-9,'58 
(6889sl0)476B 


General  Library     . 
University  of  CahforniJ 
Berkeley 


